Anthony Agueda recalls the Christmas mornings of his childhood — spent working on his family’s dairy farm with his siblings, cousins, uncles, father and grandfather. “Cows, and agriculture, in general, require around-the-clock care,” Agueda said. “It isn’t a job, it’s a way of life.”

Located in Stanislaus County, Alberto Dairy has been in Agueda’s family for three generations.

Agueda said, “My grandfather immigrated here at 19 from the Azores islands in Portugal, with nothing but his suitcase. He worked three jobs in agriculture and went back after five years, to marry my grandmother. They moved back to America and started the dairy in 1981.”

Agueda and his family have maintained a close relationship as they’ve worked together to run the family farm. It was Agueda’s grandfather who taught him how to properly feed cows and his father who taught him about cow care.

When Agueda was notified he had been selected as one of the recipients of this year’s CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement, his grandparents were the first people he shared the news with.

Established in 1984, the CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement is the California State University’s highest recognition for students, awarding superior academic performance, personal accomplishments and community service.

Agueda will be recognized by the California State University system as one of 23 students (one from each campus) to receive this award, at a formal ceremony at the CSU Chancellor’s office in Long Beach at about 4:15 p.m. on Sept. 24. 

Agueda is completing his final year of undergraduate studies at Fresno State, majoring in agricultural business. 

While a student, Agueda has been active in the agricultural community, serving with Fresno State’s Agricultural Business Club and Dairy Science Club and California Dairy Leaders Program, as well as volunteering with Stanislaus County Farm Bureau and California Milk Advisory Board.

Through his volunteer work, Agueda has hosted virtual dairy farm tours for students nationwide and coordinated milk drives during Hunger Action Month for five years, personally delivering thousands of gallons of milk to local food banks to support nutritional needs of Valley children.

“I’m really proud to represent Fresno State and the agricultural community with this award,” Agueda said. “It feels important because we come from such an agriculturally sensitive region.”

“I am honored to live out [my grandparents’] dream, and prove that the huge risk they took has grown into incredible things.”

After graduating, Agueda plans to oversee business operations at Alberto Dairy. 

He said, “Farmers across the state are making great strides in sustainable farming techniques and talking about how we can implement that and reduce pollution. My goal is to continue to make the dairy a net-zero operation, and we’re not far from obtaining that, actually.”

In the meantime, Agueda will be coordinating a milk drive with the Fresno State Dairy Science Club throughout October. Through the milk drive, Fresno State will compete with various collegiate agricultural programs in the Intercollegiate Give-A-Gallon Challenge, to see who can gather and distribute the most milk to their community. 

On Oct. 15, milk donations can be dropped off at the Gibson Farm Market between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

For more information on all CSU Trustee Award recipients, visit the CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement website.