The sixth annual Aspire to Grow Conference hosted by the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) will return to Cal Poly on Wednesday Feb. 28 at the JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture.
According to the CAFES website, the event will begin at 3:30 p.m. and will focus on innovations in food, agriculture and natural resources. The conference will bring in seven industry professionals to talk about their career paths and industries.
The event is categorized under the college’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion event category, according to their website.
Student co-chairs Sofia Reyes Parra, an agricultural business sophomore, and Andrew Tinoco, a plant science junior, have helped plan this event since October.
“It’s quite literally what the conference is named, “Aspire to Grow,” Tinoco said. “It’s supposed to be more interactive between people in the industry and then students or prospective students who are hopefully getting ready to go out into the industry at some point.”
According to Tinoco, the conference will be held in a question and answer format between students and the panel of professionals. Afterwards, students will be able to network with fellow students and industry professionals.
“I’m really excited and looking forward to just seeing the students’ reaction.I feel like the students are really gonna be able to connect with the professionals that we’re bringing,” Parra said.
Seven speakers from various industry fields will take the stage from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m followed by a networking social from 5 p.m to 6 p.m.
According to Tinoco and Parra, anyone who is interested in the event is more than welcome to attend.
“It doesn’t matter what [specific] college you’re a part of, because we’re all the same college at some point, we are all Cal Poly at the end of the day,” Tinoco said.
According to Tinoco, there is no registration required for this event. There will also be an online option for those not able to physically attend.