BAKERSFIELD, CA - Patience may be a virtue, but in maintaining something as dynamic as the California grape business, it is also a necessity. As we reflect not only on a new chapter for the California Table Grape Commission (CTGC) but on the latest in realizing the accumulating success of its Agriculture Scholarship program, incoming President Ian LeMay shares that this scholarship is really about encouraging and supporting students with a passion for California agriculture.

“Innovation in the California table grape industry almost always requires investing in the long-term. Sometimes that means developing new technologies or practices to aid future harvests, sometimes it means fostering the next generation of industry members and innovators. Such is the program offered to students by California table grape growers,” Ian says, expanding on our earlier conversation with current commission leader Kathleen Nave. “Supporting these students is a way to help ensure they have the financial ability to pursue their educational goals, grow their innovative ideas, and bring their newly acquired skills and education to the future of the California table grape industry.”

Perfect examples can be found in the latest to join the 40-plus years of students lifted up by the group investment, like Madison Jackson, who graduated from Liberty High School with a 4.1 GPA and will attend California State University, Chico to study agriculture education and environmental science.

Jackson is among those to receive the $25,000 Agriculture Scholarship, a variation of several offered to students who wish to attend a California university and plan to pursue a field of study pertinent to the California table grape industry.

Creating innovation in the agriculture industry is what excites students like Brenda Monje, a 2024 Agriculture Scholarship recipient who graduated from Tulare Western High School with a 4.1 GPA and is attending California State University, Fresno this fall to study food technology. After college, the horizon is open and broad for Monje as she looks forward to using her education to meet challenges and opportunities in developing new technologies for the agriculture industry.

Innovation in the future of the industry requires those that are passionate about advocacy and policy as well, such as 2024 Agriculture Scholarship recipient Olivia Machado.

Machado graduated from Tulare Western High School with a 4.3 GPA and will attend California Polytechnic State University, San Louis Obispo in the fall to study agriculture business. After college, Olivia plans to attend law school to become an agriculture lawyer to advocate for farmers, ranchers, and the agriculture industry.

“Choosing Grapes from California not only positively affects the California table grape community, but helps ensure that fresh minds eager to contribute to the betterment of its future are supported from within,” Ian reflected.

To learn more about the importance of impacts made by such programs, click here. And as we continue to report on all strategies helping to support the critical points of each fresh category, keep following AndNowUKnow.