In an effort to develop the next generation of leaders, California Agricultural Irrigation Association (CAIA) member companies provide scholarships to students with a desire to pursue a career in the agricultural irrigation industry. The sponsors and winners this year were:
- Irrigation Design & Construction LLC and RDO Water scholarships went to Brayan Garcia, a senior at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo majoring in agricultural systems management and minoring in water science.
- Buckner Superior awarded the Gary Pendleton Scholarship to Alexa Sutter, a junior at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo majoring in bioresource and ag engineering.
- Agri-Valley Irrigation selected Jose Amezcua, a junior at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, as the recipient of their scholarship. Jose is majoring in bioresource and ag engineering.
- Fresno Valves & Castings and Agri-Valley Irrigation awarded scholarships to Joshua Porter, a junior at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo majoring in bioresource and ag engineering.
- Western Ag & Turf chose Liliana Reyes Solorio, a senior at Fresno State University, as the recipient of their scholarship. Liliana is a senior majoring in agricultural education with an emphasis in plant science.
In 2017, CAIA began offering member companies the opportunity to sponsor scholarships to applicants within the California university and college systems—the average award being $1,200 per academic year. In addition to the financial support, scholarship recipients automatically receive student memberships in CAIA for the duration of their scholarship period. Other companies are encouraged to join these sponsoring companies in supporting our leaders of tomorrow by contacting Jane Townsend (jane@agamsi.com).