Plant Science Student Internship Spotlight: Aaron Vega Mendoza

The Fresno State annual plant science career fair is only two weeks away on Nov. 9, and senior Aaron Vega Mendoza will attest that it's a great opportunity to find internships.

The West Hills College transfer and Hanford native scouted fields for Helena Agri-Enterprises as an intern near his hometown, as well farms as far away near Coalinga and Wasco.

Learn more about the campus irrigation club officer who chose the Jordan College because of its hands-on opportunities in this recent interview.

 

Q: What types of jobs did you do generally, and can apply them to your potential career?

Vega Mendoza: "I scouted almonds, pistachios, cotton, tomatoes, onions, grapes, and alfalfa for different pest control advisers. I also gained a lot of experience looking for and identifying pests, diseases, weeds, and deficiencies in all those different crops."

Vega Mendoza: "Another great aspect that I gained was making connections with growers as well as with different PCA's from around the area. PCA's from Helena deal with a wide variety of growers - some are small family farms, others are huge companies that have a huge amount of land, or they even deal with family members".

 

 

Q: What were some challenges you faced in the internship, and did you have any memorable experiences?

Vega Mendoza: "The scouting requirements for cotton are unique. I would check height, nodes, the number of plants per 40 inches, the number of squares in those plants in the 40 inches, and sweep for pests. It took a great amount of effort to get the hang of it, however, now I feel more comfortable working with cotton plants."

Vega Mendoza: "Getting interviewed with all of the PCAs of the company in their conference room was something I won't forget. Another memorable experience was going out to the fields with the PCA I was under, and learning from him and working alongside him. That was something that will truly help me in the future."

 

 

Q: Did you work with anybody also with Fresno State ties?

Vega Mendoza: "One of the key persons who helped in this great experience was the branch manager, Matt Beene, who is a Fresno State alumni. He was extremely helpful and gave great advice to help me in the ag industry."

 

Q: What was your background in agriculture before you started at Fresno State?

Vega Mendoza: "All of my family has worked in agriculture. I started to work at a dairy each summer when I was 15. Since then I have worked in the fields owned by that dairy that included almonds, grapes, and some blueberries. Those jobs provided a lot memorable moments in my teenage years as I learned to use different equipment such as wheel loaders and tractors as well. I remember how nervous I was at my first day at work, and I was able to quick gain confidence in a wide variety of jobs, like injecting cows and using modern technology to sort cows." 

 

Q: Have you received any type of Jordan College scholarships?

Vega Mendoza: "This year I was able to receive the Ag One-Virgil E. Rasmussen Scholarship, which has helped me economically and given me yet another reason to keep striving towards my goals."

 

Q: Are there any other interesting notes about yourself that you would like to include?

Vega Mendoza: "I am extremely grateful for being able to work for such a great company as Helena. All this started because of the Jordan College career services office."

 

Q: After graduation, what's your potential next career step?

Vega Mendoza: "This internship has paved the way for me to push myself to become an agronomist. I love going out to the fields and being able to identify different plant growth stages, identifying a stress, a deficiency, a disease, or a pest. I just truly love helping plants as well as helping a grower or company get the best out of there crops."