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Five recent graduates and one current student from Career Technical Education (CTE) programs in agriculture and automotive technology at Hartnell College offered a powerful endorsement of their Hartnell education during a recent panel discussion.
The group came together via Zoom with Clint Cowden, Hartnell’s dean of CTE and workforce programs, to share their college and career experiences, including internships and leadership development. A video of the discussion was shared Feb. 24 and 26 with hundreds of Monterey County students and educators attending an online Career Expo as part of a nationwide Career & Technical Education Month.
“Hartnell is building a reputation, and we’re part of that,” said Miguel Gomez, a Hartnell graduate in agricultural production who is now pursuing his bachelor’s degree in agricultural plant and social sciences at Cal State Monterey Bay and working fulltime for Taylor Farms. “We’re helping, because we have the work ethic, the passion and we’re just hungry to learn.”
Fellow CSUMB student Moises Gomez, also working full-time for Taylor Farms, stressed a point that was echoed by several of the panelists – that Hartnell instructors and staff are dedicated to helping current and former students as they reach for their career goals.
“You meet everyone in your class; you make great friends, colleagues; and you establish relationships with your instructors and your counselors,” Moises Gomez said. “I mean, there are counselors that I still reach out to when I have a question. Any application that comes my way, I feel more comfortable going to them, and the same thing with staff or previous instructors.
“You can go up to them and ask them, whether it’s a personal question, whether it’s regarding what you should do next. So I really like that one-onone environment that Hartnell had to offer.”
2020 graduate Angelita Cisneros-Aguilar, now studying crop science and horticulture at Chico State University, said she had opportunities for scholarships, work experience and attending industry events during her years at Hartnell.
“You know it goes a long way when you have those things in your resume,” she said.
Automotive graduate Jeremy Arcega shared how instructor Pete Escoto helped him get started on a career path that began at MY Chevrolet in Salinas and has now taken him to work for Pape Material Handling in Yuma, Ariz.
“I’m the youngest technician on my fleet at 23 years old,” Arcega said. “Everyone around me is 40, 40 and up, and I always look back, thinking that before Hartnell, I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know what a wrench was, I didn’t know what a ratchet was. I didn’t even know how to take off a tire.
“And if it wasn’t for Hartnell I wouldn’t be where I am now. And let alone me being out here in Yuma, outside of California for the first time. That’s such a big opportunity for my family.”
As dean, Cowden expressed his appreciation and admiration for the student panelists.
“We appreciate you guys and we are so humbled by your success,” he said. “Your professors, the people that know you the best obviously care tremendously about you, and I thank you so much.”