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International Trip Day 5: LIFE IN CONSTANT FEAR … and a little bit of hope
As we embrace our second day in Medellín, Colombia, our Presiding Fellows provided the Class with three questions to have in mind while we enter today’s sessions and tours. These questions are presented to elicit spectral thinking (not everything is black and white – the grey is real) when presented with some of heavy topics…
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International Trip Day 4 – ¡Vamos a Medellín!
Rise and shine class 52! At 5:15AM we said a sleepy goodbye to gracious Panama City and went on our way to the City of Eternal Spring: Medellín, Colombia. At the Medellín airport, we were greeted by our gregarious guides for the next 7 days. While in route to our first excursion, we heard about…
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Day 3 – Finding the “American” Dream
What is the “American” Dream? Is it achievable? What does it mean to be “American”? On our third day in Panama City we spent the day in the Bristol Hotel conference room learning about the mass human migration through the Darién Gap, the history of Panama and some of it’s leaders who dreamed dreams of…
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International Trip: Day 2 – A City of new Beginnings
After a good nights rest and some time for self reflection, class 52 began day 2 of their international trip in Panama. Fellows boarded the bus, again led by local tour guide Ian Sanchez, and class 52 was off to Panama Viejo or Old Town. As class 52 pulled into Panama Viejo, we were met…
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International Trip: Day 1
And we’re off! LAX –> Panama City, Panama The clock strikes 10:00PM at LAX, a full and electric crowd traffics through the busy international nexus as a group of CALF fellows gather in Terminal B for a tradition as old as Reaganomics. It was time for Class 52 to begin their international odyssey! The itinerary…
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National Trip Day 9: A Trip to Remember
Today we made our journey home. We left Washington D.C. at 6:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time), and with one layover in Atlanta, we arrived home in Sacramento at noon (Pacific Standard Time). Wow! This was a trip for the record books. We wanted to start off with how extremely proud we are of every CALF…
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National Trip Day 8: Learn by Doing
Somehow we find ourselves at the last full day of our indescribable National Trip. Words feels like they do little justice to how we are feeling, what we have been learning, and how we will be integrating these experiences back into our everyday lives; But, we’re going to do our best. The theme of the…
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National Trip Day 7: Relationships are the Key to Success
Being flexible, understanding, and ready for a full day continues to be a theme of Class 52’s national trip. We started the day with a COVID test, had breakfast, and continued to show D.C. why we are known as the “Hungry & Chatty” group. Fueled up and ready to learn, we jumped in cars and…
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National Trip Day 6: Standing on Common Ground
“When people think about politics, they think of conflict… that makes good television, but it doesn’t make good policy.” Dennis Nuxoll, Western Growers Association We heard from four spectacular speakers the morning of our second full day in Washington DC – Dennis Nuxoll (Western Growers), Scott Faber (Environmental Working Group), Sara Neagu-Reed (AmericanHort; class 49),…
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National Trip Day 5: PIVOT…PIVOT…. PIVOT
It was certainly a day for Sunshine and Vitamin C. Both the energy of the group and the climate kept us uplifted to move through the day we had ahead. The moment we all waited for, our first day in DC! But wait, not exactly how we planned…. We woke up with a message from the…
California Agricultural Leadership Program 