Agricultural Business Student Spotlight: Nancy Alvarez

After agricultural business senior Nancy Alvarez graduates from Fresno State this fall semester, she will have one of the more impressive and versatile resumes employers will find.

The Gonzales native has interned this summer at Dole and also been a frequent honoree on the campus President's List (4.0) and Dean's List (+3.5).

On campus she also worked with the Center for Irrigation Technology, and her market hogs in high school won reserve grand champion honors at the Monterey County & King City Fairs.

Her passion for agriculture started much earlier while watching her mother work as a produce plant packer and her father as a tractor driver. 

Read more about her interesting background and career aspirations in this recent interview.

 

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

Alvarez: "Ever since I was a young girl, the agriculture industry has been a part of my life since both of my parents worked in the industry. I gained knowledge through them by visiting them at work and them explaining to me their tasks and how things work. I aspired to follow the footsteps of my parents since I found the industry interesting. Before them, both of my grandfathers were in the bracero program and worked with various commodities such as: almonds, citrus, grapes, etc." 

Alvarez: "In high school, I was involved in FFA, where I raised market hogs and participated in various competitions. After high school, I received the American Degree, which is the highest pin a member can receive for their outstanding achievements in the organization."

 

Q: Why were you drawn to the agricultural business degree field initially? 

Alvarez: "How I chose my degree field is quite interesting. I took what I was good at and my passion, then combined them together, which led me to become an agribusiness major. I’ve always had a passion for agriculture, and I am good at selling and convincing people to buy something. I’ve always had a spark and entrepreneurial mindset since I was a young girl." 

 

Q: What are some of your favorite classes so far and why? 

Alvarez: "The Fresno State Agribusiness curriculum is great and is one that I would highly recommend. Some of my top favorite ag courses are finance, marketing analysis, quantitative methods and international economics. Not only was the course content interesting, but my professors played a major role in the understanding and delivery of the course which made my experience 10 times better. 

 

Q: Explain any research-related opportunities at Fresno State you have helped with and why the research is important? 

Alvarez: "During Spring 2021, I was granted the opportunity to work and learn with the Center for Irrigation Technology at Fresno State for a service learning project. I participated in research and attended activities that not only helped me gain knowledge, but also helped better the community. I attended educational webinars that were hosted by PG&E and participated in a three-point pump efficiency test. These webinars provided information in regards to pump efficiency testing, how pumps irrigate crops, along with reasons why pumps are not efficient and energy costs are too high. The three-point pump efficiency test was on campus at one of the premature almond orchards in which we tested the efficiency of certain irrigation systems. The goal of the efficiency test was to notate our research results in order to help Fresno State, PG&E and the community not only decrease energy usage, but lower energy costs."

 

Q: Talk about your internship experience with Dole Fresh Vegetables, and what were your main responsibilities? 

Alvarez: "I am currently completing an internship with their Fresh Pack Sales in Monterey. My main responsibilities are to assist the sales team members with their allowances that needed attention. I allocated pending credits to allowance accounts and would also insert any price changes into the system that were caused by a market decline or a pricing error. I would track cooler delays on a weekly report in order to combat the delays that were caused from labor shortages due to the pandemic. I collaborated data for items that the sales team sells in order for the marketing department to create a catalog to aid with sell-ins.

 

Q: What are the next potential steps in your career path?  

Alvarez: "I would like to work in sales, marketing, and finance areas since I want to gain a good understanding of each business sector. All departments come together to make a company successful and functioning, therefore, experiencing what each sector entails will add value to my knowledge and benefit my career path."