Cal Poly students took second place out of 64 competing schools at the 36th Annual Student Career Days competition, an event held for horticulture students across the nation.
The three-day competition took place at Kansas State University March 22 to 25, with 14 students and four professors from Cal Poly attending.
Throughout the three days, events were done both in groups and individually. Some events included: business management, compact excavator operation, computer-aided landscape design and construction cost estimating.
The Cal Poly students involved spent all year growing and selling succulent plants at the horticulture department on campus to save money and help pay for the trip to Kansas, according to horticulture professor Tiffany Faulstich. In addition to plant sales, agricultural education senior Michelle Jimenez also did some fundraising by contacting independent representatives she thought would be interested in supporting the team, Faulstich said.
Environmental horticulture science sophomore Kimberly Arias, who took part in the competition, said the advisers gave the team a drive to succeed that stuck with them.
“If there wasn’t anyone to encourage us, we wouldn’t have done it,” Arias said. “Some people studied more for the competition than for finals.”
The first day of the event had an opening ceremony in the morning, followed by a career fair afterward and that evening students took written tests to qualify for the physical competition on the second day. Cal Poly students qualified for all the events.
In addition to coming away with national recognition for winning, students had the opportunity to connect with business owners in the industry at the career fair. This year, two Cal Poly students were offered internships, and last year two students were offered permanent positions, Cal Poly’s assistant professor of sustainable landscape horticulture, Rob Shortell said.
Horticulture professor Tiffany Faulstich said she was proud of all the students for doing so well when they got to the event, especially due to the fact that two-thirds of the students, including Arias, became ill on the plane ride to the event.
“I was just thinking I would not be able to think straight,” Arias said. “I stayed up and studied. I competed. It got worse through the whole day, I got through it though.”
Landscape architecture senior Sara Berryhill was the only team member who was unable to compete due to illness, but two other students were able to cover her events.
“(Faulstich) was our cheerleader,” Berryhill said.
The last day of the event held a closing ceremony and awards. According to Arias and Faulstich, the announcer for the competition initially said Cal Poly got third place in the competition. Shortly after, the president of the competition clarified it was a mistake and that Cal Poly actually got second place.
Although a lot of work went into the win, some students such as agriculture and environmental plant sciences senior Mike Magnani said attending the event in previous years also helped the teams secure a place.
“I feel that I was able to prepare better because I had already been before,” Magnani said. “The experience helped.”
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