FEATURE STORY
Rancho Cielo Gives Youth Navigating Challenges a Boost with New Agtech Program By Kara Timmins, Communications Manager O mar Amezola, a student at Rancho Cielo in Salinas, Calif., was amazed by one technology in particular when he attended the 2023 FIRA USA event in September with his classmates. “I saw all these different kinds of drones and what they did,” Amezola said. “I went to go ask what they did, and they said that it looks at the plants and it uses X-ray vision and it looks under the leaves.”
Amezola, a student in the new agtech department at Rancho Cielo, didn’t know that working with drones was even a career option. Now he does, and he has a plan to achieve his goal. He’s going to work with Rancho Cielo to earn his commercial certificate for drone operations. For many of the students at Rancho Cielo in Salinas, Calif., their experience at the school isn’t a fresh start, it’s a first real start. And for some of those students, the beginning of their adult life will start in agtech, thanks to the new agtech training branch of Rancho Cielo. The seeds of Rancho Cielo first began to germinate in 2000 when Superior Court Judge John M. Phillips saw a need to stop first-time offenders from becoming repeat offenders—preventing a mistake from becoming a pattern of incidents. On Oct. 10, 2004, situated among quintessentially California hills in Salinas, Rancho Cielo opened its doors to offer an alternative to students who needed a different path. The school will celebrate two decades of graduating students in 2025, and some of those who have graduated since those early days are still on the campus walking around wearing their Rancho Cielo Alumni shirts and
assisting the current class of students. The mission of the school is clear: “Rancho Cielo empowers participants to become accountable, competent, productive and responsible citizens, through education, job training and individualized counseling. Participants learn how to make good choices—choices for the future, choices to stay out of trouble, choices to be productive and to act as positive role models for their children. Rancho Cielo’s work reaches much further than those who enroll in our programs; it also touches participants’ families, their children, parents, grandparents, and relatives who witness their accomplishments and new-found dedication.” Through the years, the different job training resources have grown from culinary training, automotive restoration, welding and now agtech. Started in 2019 with support from Western Growers members and staff, the agtech program gives students real-world experience and an education on everything from electronic and computational theory to drone operation. The goal? “Upon program completion, students become well-rounded professionals poised to revolutionize agriculture, equipped with the knowledge
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NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2023
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
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