Letter from the Editor

Four years ago, I would have never imagined that I would be working for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES). As a business student, I thought why interact with anyone else besides business students? Well... I am proud and thankful that I have been able to work with CAFES since my sophomore year of college. The people whom I have encountered have made all the difference in my life. I guess you could say that my experiences here have given me a more expanded view of the world of academia.

I will be graduating this June (Father's Day to be exact) with a degree in Business Administration and concentrations in both Public Accounting and Financial Management. After graduation I plan to stick around in SLO for awhile to continue working for the BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department. Starting mid-October I will be working in downtown San Francisco for the accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, within their tax practice. Thus sadly, this is the final eNewsletter that I will be creating. No worries though… I am passing on the torch so you, my readers, will still be able to “stay in the know” about our fabulous department.

Frankly, when I look back on my four years at Cal Poly I have absolutely no idea where the time went or how I got to where I am now. Prospective students- I recommend you take every minute of your college experience and enjoy it, live it to the fullest! I know you have probably heard your parents say that a million times… but they aren't lying. Listen to them. Get involved in as many extracurricular activities within and outside your major. There is a whole world out there, of which you can take advantage.

Well since I am graduating, I wanted to take some time to do a few “shout outs.” I would really like to thank all of the individuals who I have encountered during my three years working for the College of Agriculture. Specifically, thank you to the Dean's Office for taking a leap of faith that a sophomore with no job experience would be able to handle the job; and for providing me with left-over food from meetings to help a starving college student. In all seriousness, thank you for being so supportive! Thank you to Heidi for always being there for me when I was having traumatic life experiences and on the verge of wigging out. I will miss recommending movies for you and Don to rent over the weekend. Most of all I will miss that enticing candy bowl on your desk.

Thank you to the BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department faculty, staff, and students! This year has probably been the most fulfilling and entertaining work experience I may ever have (I mean, after all, I'm becoming an accountant). BRAE Faculty: I thoroughly enjoyed department meetings, barbeques, convincing you all that the t-shirt design was hip, recommending certain sandwich places in town, debating what's up with my generation, and most importantly “hanging out.” Thank you to all of you, especially Rich, for trusting me enough to allow me to take on crazy projects like the eNewsletter, the BRAE Reunion, and BRAE's marketing efforts. I appreciate how you always took my viewpoint into consideration! Thank you to the BRAE students for being so helpful and putting up with my numerous email requests. I enjoyed throwing back and forth sarcasm with all of you. You and the faculty are what make the BRAE Department the great place it is. Oh, and p.s., you all convinced a business student that engineers, especially agricultural engineers, are super cool!

Pat and Monica, thank you for all of your help with the whole eNewsletter process- it couldn't have been done without you! Thank you Monica for helping me with my questions regarding the eNewsletter when I encountered HTML glitches or needed files to be uploaded. Thank you Kathy for being my SLO mom and the greatest boss ever. Words cannot express how appreciative I am and how blessed I feel to have had your support throughout college. Thank you for feeding me (you got me hooked on New Frontiers), encouraging me, buying me a pumpkin, and trusting me. I will be keeping you on speed dial in the years to come.

THANK YOU to my family! Mom and Dad thank you for always taking an interest in what I do and teaching me that the sky has no limit. Thank you for reading my monthly eNewsletters! Mom, thank you for supporting the BRAE Department by purchasing three “BRAE Gear” t-shirts. (Note to anyone reading, if you haven't bought one, do so now) SHOUT OUT to my wonderful friends- you are all fantastic and congratulations to all of us for graduating on time! Thank you to Blake, my patient boyfriend, whom I also made read all of the eNewsletters- you are amazing! Thank you to all of my teachers here at Cal Poly- you are all truly inspirational and have had a profound impact on me!

Thank you to my readers for taking an interest in the BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department and for your support. I have enjoyed every minute of creating and writing each month's eNewsletter. While it has been challenging at times, I know it is worth it when I receive positive feedback from readers. I hope you continue to read the eNewsletters as I feel they are a very important tool for providing all of you with accurate and timely information and to increase the awareness of our program.

THANK YOU FOR READING… it's been a pleasure.