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Fresno State
Discussion Meet State Championship Team members and their
respective majors (from left): Nancy Novak (Equine Science),
Michael Croxen (Animal Science), Amanda Pombo (Ag.Education),
Joseph Joralemon (Enology), Jackie Mundt (Ag. Communication),
Joel Saldana Jr. (Ag. Education), and Lazaro Sandoval (Ag.
Business). |
Agriculture students on
California State University, Fresno’s Discussion Meet team won the state
championship – its second team title in three years – and student Jackie
Mundt won first place at a statewide speaking competition sponsored
recently by the California Farm Bureau Federation.
They took top honors in the Collegiate Discussion Meet at the state Farm
Bureau’s 90th Annual Meeting in Burlingame Dec. 7.
Mundt, an agriculture communications student at Fresno State, won the
individual title after discussing how the nation’s aging infrastructure
should be improved to accommodate transportation of farm goods. The
Fresno State junior from Pittsville, Wisc., won a $500 prize.
Joel Saldana, Jr., a senior agriculture education major at Fresno State
from Firebaugh, was the first runner up. Second and third runners up
were from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
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Fresno State
Discussion Meet State Champion Jackie Mundt (right) and first
runner-up Joel Saldana Jr. |
Fresno State’s Discussion
Meet team consists of seven students from the College of Agricultural
Sciences and Technology. In addition to Mundt and Saldana, members of
the championship team are Mike Croxen of Madera, Joseph Joralemon of
Pismo Beach, Nancy Novak of San Diego, Amanda Pombo of Tracy and Lazaro
Sandoval of Santa Cruz.
Dr. Steven Rocca, adviser for Fresno State’s Collegiate Discussion Meet
team, and professor in the Animal Sciences and Agricultural Education
Department, said this is a tremendous accomplishment for both students
as well as the team champions.
“They have worked very hard both individually and as the leaders of our
team,” Rocca said. “Their success and our team championship is a
testament to the dedication they have shown in preparing themselves for
the Discussion Meet contest and in helping their team members prepare to
compete.”
Mundt said the discussion meet encourages young agriculturalists to
engage in dialogue about issues facing the industry.
“These conversations help us to find solutions for problems that will be
our responsibility as future leaders of the organization," Mundt said.
The team begins preparing for the Discussion Meet in September and
invited guest speakers to its meetings to share information about the
topics covered in the upcoming competition.
The California Farm Bureau Federation, the state's largest farm
organization, works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of
91,000 members. The collegiate category is part of the federation’s
Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet.
For more information contact Rocca at 559.278.5088.
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