In ceremonies hosted on May 19 at the 2016-17 Agricultural Engineering Society End of the Year Banquet, 26 Cal Poly students from the BioResource and Agricultural Engineering (BRAE) Department were awarded various irrigation scholarships including the Daisy J. Hudson Agricultural Irrigation Career Scholarship, the John Merriam Memorial Scholarship, and the Mid-Pacific Water Users Conference for USBR Scholarship.

The scholarships were awarded to those studying BioResource and Agricultural Engineering or Agricultural Systems Management (ASM).

Tallon Dotinga, from Oakdale, is currently a student in the BRAE Department. Dotinga was one of several recipients for the Daisy J. Hudson Scholarship.

The scholarship provides needs-based financial assistance to hard working students who intend to pursue active careers related to water after their undergraduate studies in the areas of irrigation, water science, or water engineering at Cal Poly.

Daisy J. Hudson was a life-long resident of Porterville in Tulare County, who served as General Manager of the Sausalito Irrigation District and has exceptional career experience in the agriculture and water industry. Daisy believed whole-heartedly that agriculture’s two most important assets are water and people. Her appreciation for women in the industry and Cal Poly attendees from a rural background led her to establish the Agricultural Irrigation Career Scholarship at Cal Poly, or the Daisy J. Hudson Scholarship.

Cal Poly’s ITRC and BRAE Department ITRC (Irrigation Training and Research Center) is a center of excellence housed within the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo. The linkage to the BRAE Department is unique among irrigation centers – ITRC’s organization was specifically developed as such to ensure long-term positive benefits to Cal Poly’s academic irrigation teaching program – which provides long-term benefits to California and the nation.

The BRAE department is an engineering-based educational unit consisting of professionals whose mission is the study, teaching, and practice of engineering and systems management support for agriculture. The department’s “Learn by Doing” philosophy is carried out through its laboratory-intensive classes, practical inter- and extracurricular opportunities, and excellent facilities.