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LEADING THE WAY: RPTA SENIOR JACKIE GARCIA WINS 2014 OUTSTANDING STUDENT EMPLOYEE AWARD

By Kevin Mould (RPTA '14), Editor

Sometimes a body of work simply speaks for itself, as it did recently for senior Jackie Garcia (RPTA '14) in winning Cal Poly's 2013-14 Outstanding Student Employee of the Year. Garcia was selected unanimously from 34 nominees, and proved just how far Cal Poly's Learn by Doing motto can carry those who take it to heart. To put a crown on this amazing honor, Garcia also went on to win the same award at the state level, the fourth consecutive year that a Cal Poly student has done so.

The nomination was submitted by the Agricultural Education & Communication Department, where Garcia has worked for the past two years in three separate positions. The first position was as an assistant to Greg Beard, the South Coast Region FFA supervisor. In his nomination letter, Mr. Beard noted that Garcia treated her work like it was a family business, a sentiment with which Garcia agrees. "I could not describe it any better myself; I feel like a part of the family where I work, and I take my tasks seriously." For her second job, Garcia served as the editor for the California FFA News quarterly publication, and her third position saw her working directly with the Agricultural Education & Communications Department during the summers and periodically throughout the year.

Even with all of her hard work, Garcia admits that she did not expect to hear her named called. She gave praise to the other nominees, especially fellow RPTA senior Katie McGuire, who works with Cal Poly Associated Students Inc. She acknowledged that her peers "do amazing work for this university and work very hard to do so," and was humble and gracious in accepting the honor. Says Garcia, "I am happy to be able to make my employers proud because they have done wonderful things for me throughout my college experience - even before I worked for them. And, of course, I am proud to represent the RPTA Department!"

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