Four students from the University of the Azores arrived at California State University, Fresno, for a month-long internship at the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology.   The four students will work with faculty from JCAST with hands-on experience, plus they will also visit various communities in Central California with solid roots in the Azores.   The exchange program between Fresno State and the University of the Azores dates to 2017, when the first students came from the Azores and from Fresno to the archipela, although the first MOU was signed in June of 2016 (updated and resigned in 2021). Although it was suspended for years due to the pandemic, 40 students from both sides of the Atlantic have now benefited from this exchange program.

Students from the Azores with Fresno State President Dr. Saúl Jimenez-Sandoval.

Four students from Fresno State have returned from the Azores, where they also did a month-long internship. This year they had the unique opportunity to travel from terceira isalnd to California as a group.

Fresno State Students and Students from the Uiversity of the Azores at Oakland International airport.

This program initially set up through funding from the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) from Lisbon, Portugal, and the organization of the Tulare-Angra Sister City Foundation, is now possible thanks to many partnerships in the Azores and the Central Valley.  The Mayor’s office in Angra do Heroísmo is a major sponsor of this month-long internship program.  It was an initial conversation with the Mayor of Angra Álamo Meneses and the Tulare-Angra Sister City Foundation that began the entire process, leading to conversations with the JCAST at Fresno State and after a commitment from FLAD, conversations with the University of the Azores.

  

Students at a lunch and orientation session with faculty and staff from JCAST, organized by Alcidia Gomes-AgOne Foundation.

(Novidades-Bruma Publications-PBBI, Fresno State)