Kailey Stone Ag Education Student Spotlight

Third-generation farmer Kelly Stone inherited a deep passion for agriculture from her family's dairy and almond operations near Modesto, which also gave her hands-on experience with irrigation systems and equipment maintenance that she can share as a high school agricultural education teacher in Merced this fall.

She has also gained related experience working with Fresno State ag camps and its Agricultural Career Readiness Certificate Pathway of the 21st Century program (ACRS21). Collaborating with campus and industry peers, she has researched and expanded its curriculum to help students in high school develop and refine soft skills that are vital for their agricultural careers. 

Learned more about the recent master's degree recipient and her other leadership and Fresno State Gibson Farm Market work experiences in this recent interview. 

 

Q: Why did you choose to attend Fresno State, and how did you pick your major?

“I chose to attend Fresno State because of its impressive agricultural education program, which I had heard about during my time at Modesto Junior College. I chose my major because of my passion for agriculture and student success. I have a passion for teaching in the classroom, and my heart is eager to provide hands-on agricultural and leadership experiences through FFA.” 

 

Q: Did you have any other family members graduate or attend Fresno State?

"Yes - several of my cousins, Eric Migliazzo (Animal Science), Catherine Clendenin (Science/Liberal Studies), Mark Migliazzo (Dairy Science), Ben Migliazzo (Plant Science), John Migliazzo (Ag Business); my uncle, Tom Clendenin (Ag Business), and my aunt, Carol Clendenin (Liberal Studies)."

 

Q: Which classes & faculty members have had the biggest influence on you while at Fresno State?

"I have thoroughly enjoyed all of my courses at Fresno State, but if I were to pick a few courses, I would include Mrs. Jesse Bower (AgEd 189),  Mr. Chris McKenna (MEAG 50), and Dr. Henson (ASCI 71). Mrs. Bower's course allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and prepare me for teaching in the classroom. McKenna’s welding class allowed me to challenge myself and gain more confidence in the shop, and I enjoyed challenging myself with improving my welds. Dr. Henson’s meat science course opened my mind to new interests in food science."

 

Q: Talk about which campus farm units you have worked at, and skills you have learned that you can apply to your career.

"I worked as a summer employee at the Gibson Farm Market in 2022. During that time I was able to receive more hands-on experience with food packaging and produce. I worked for my family almond operation during harvest season for years so it was really cool to work on the other side closer to ag product sales." 

 

Q: Have you been involved with research on campus, and how will it benefit your career path?

“I have been a part of the Agricultural Career Readiness Certificate Pathway of the 21st Century (ACRS21) team since Fall of 2022. We have developed a job-readiness, soft skill curriculum for the high school level and a pilot program to test its effectiveness in the classroom. This directly aligns with my career path in ag education. I have a passion for student success, not just in the classroom, but preparing them for a successful future, whether they choose higher education or to go straight into industry.”

“The research included the creation of 27 lessons that focus on soft skill development that directly aligns to CTE standards and the ACRS21 certificate pathway. Nine of the 27 lessons were tested in two high school ag leadership courses and 54 participants utilizing the Life Effectiveness Questionnaire-H (Neill, 2003).”

“The LEQ-H test was taken on the AET before and after instruction of the nine ACRS21 curriculum lessons, a standard paired T-test was ran on SPSS based on the collected data from the AET. Of the eight identified soft skills, five showed an increase and two showed a significant increase in students' soft skill development.”

“My role included creating the curriculum, promoting the curriculum and ACRS21 program at different conventions and conferences, and then teaching the curriculum as a part of the pilot program in a high school ag classroom. The goal of this research was to test the curriculum my research partner (Jorge Salas) and I created and to bring awareness to the importance behind preparing students for their future outside the high school classroom.” 

 

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

"I come from a third generation farming family with a passion for agriculture that has been active in the dairy and almond industry. My great grandfather came by boat from Italy, met my great grandmother and had twin daughters (including my grandmother). My grandmother met my grandfather in Merced where they began tomato farming in the 1950s and switched over to almonds in the 1980s which is still in operation today."

"I've grown up helping on the family farm starting at the age of 12 with fixing irrigation, pulling branches, sweeping, loading the hullers, cleaning equipment, and fixing equipment when needed." 

"I joined 4-H at the age of 9 and participated in years of community service, holding office positions, running leadership and public speaking projects, participating as a camp staff member, and showing breeding/market rabbits. I joined FFA in 2014 and showed market sheep, held multiple chapter officer positions, and judged dairy cattle and dairy products CDEs." 

 

Q: Are you a part of any other clubs and organizations at Fresno State?

"I have been an Ag Ambassador and traveled to different junior colleges to promote Fresno State's agricultural department. I have also assisted in the AET, participated in a record book contest at the 2023 Fresno State FFA Field Day, and worked a counselor for the USDA Ag Discovery Camp and campus Ag Kids Camp."

 

Q: Have you received any scholarships related to campus, the Jordan College or Ag One?  

"I am a recipient of the Ag One-Nick W. and Els Blom Family Scholarship."

 

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

"I am excited to have accepted a teaching position at Merced High School as an agricultural teacher for the 2024-2025 school year."