Senior Stefani Rivera plans to pursue a career as an ultrasound technician, but the skills she learned in the Agriculture Science Pathway at Jurupa Valley High School helped her get out of her comfort zone.
“I fell in love with agriculture. It’s actually really fun. You get to (meet) people in the class,” Stefani said.
At Rubidoux High School, students also gain the confidence to speak in front of their peers to pitch their candidacy and run for an officer position in the school’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter.
Jurupa Unified School District receives an Agricultural Career Technical Education (Ag CTE) Incentive Grant annually. These dollars help fund the agriculture pathways and FFA chapters at Rubidoux and Jurupa Valley High School. In the 2023-2024 school year, JUSD was awarded $32,775 for these programs. The incentive grant is facilitated through FFA and is based on how much the programs accomplish in a school year, the number of students enrolled, course requirements, and other determining factors. These programs teach students more than just agriculture and horticulture.
“(This) environment has really helped me develop talking and social skills,” said Samantha Valle, FFA president for the Jurupa Valley chapter. “FFA has given me so many new opportunities.”
Jurupa Valley High School students also are building a community with their classmates, families, and their agriculture teacher, Angel Carrillo. Grant funds are used to, “keep the students engaged in the program outside and inside of class and to provide (students) opportunities and resources.” said Mr. Carrillo. That means students can attend conferences, and have the necessary equipment, tools, and plants.
At Rubidoux High School, the Ag CTE Incentive Grant provides funding for a variety of the same items but most importantly– hay.
“The biggest purchase we make every year is the hay… to feed the horses all year long,” said Rubidoux High School agriculture teacher Kayla Vanaselja. “We wouldn’t be able to host this program and these horses without (the grant).”
Isabella Torres signed up for agriculture biology her freshman year with an interest in becoming a veterinarian in the future. Her focus changed now that she has been in the animal science pathway for 3 years.
“Now that I have been here, I’ve been thinking about… working on a farm, (and) doing something with horses because I really love working with horses,” Isabella said. She aids other students in their advanced horsemanship class as a teacher’s assistant to Ms. Vanaselja and has grown fond of their young horse, Levi – who has a big personality. Isabella is now interested in attending Mt. San Antonio College’s agricultural program after graduation to work on a farm and continue working with horses.
Tenth-grader Dayamy Pedraza is also interested in becoming a horse farrier, someone who takes care of horses’ hooves, including shoeing, balancing, and trimming after being in the horsemanship and advanced horsemanship class for two years.
“Being with animals just intrigued me. (My love) has grown, I really love this class,” Dayamy said “I think this would be a very interesting career choice to get into.”
Students are drawn to the agriculture classes and FFA because it’s different from their other traditional classes. They’re energized and ready to jump in and get their hands dirty.
“That’s one of our mottos in FFA, ‘learn by doing’, and that is what we are (applying) out here,” said Mr. Carrillo.
