August 8, 2024 

Media Contacts:  
Dr. Jeff Bullock, acting dean of math, science, and engineering, 509-682-6624, jbullock@wvc.edu 
Jennifer Korfiatis, interim public information officer, 509-682-6650, jkorfiatis@wvc.edu 

 

In 2022, Wenatchee Valley College was awarded a four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to align with the efforts of Hispanic Serving Institutions to support academic development and career attainment of underrepresented groups. As a result of the grant, a WVC alumna and a current student are getting hands-on experience at the WSU Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center to further their education and prepare them for professions in agriculture. 

Leisly Hernandez and Monica Oropeza are now completing internships at the WSU-TFREC, where they are working on entomology projects to improve tree fruit production. 

Hernandez graduated from WVC with an associate in applied science-transfer degree with WSU in horticulture and tree fruit production and is now a WSU student. She is working in the lab of Professor Robert Curtiss. Hernandez has conducted field work, insect specimen collection and processing, and lab analysis to evaluate the benefits of naturally occurring insects for control of pear pests. Curtiss said that Hernandez “found that beneficial insects are correlated with reductions in the numbers of pests, and they mitigate the damage pests caused. She also found that changes in beneficial insect population densities over the season were closely related to changes in the pest population densities.”  

Hernandez also collected and prepared specimens for genetic sequencing that will be part of a subsequent WVC and WSU-TFREC collaboration. 

Oropeza is also working toward an AAS-T in horticulture and tree fruit production. She is working in Professor Tobin Northfield’s lab at the extension center. Oropeza has conducted field and laboratory research on insects that spread Western X little cherry disease. She collected and processed plant and insect samples to better understand disease progression within cherry trees and in orchards. She also conducted lab experiments to better understand the feeding and mating behaviors of the insects spreading the disease and to identify novel control methods.   

Oropeza presented in Spanish to orchard workers visiting WSU as part of a WVC program, and she presented to tree fruit growers and consultants in English at a WSU Field Day on Aug. 6 at Sunrise Research Orchard.   

The USDA grant was awarded through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hispanic-Serving Institution Education Grants Program. It expires in 2026.  

 

### 

Wenatchee Valley College enriches North Central Washington by serving educational and cultural needs of communities and residents throughout the service area. The college is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion for all students and employees and provides high-quality transfer, liberal arts, professional/technical, basic skills and continuing education for students of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. Visit our website, wvc.edu. 

Wenatchee Valley College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in employment and student enrollment. All programs are free from discrimination and harassment against any person because of race, creed, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a service animal by a person with a disability, age, parental status or families with children, marital status, religion, genetic information, honorably discharged veteran or military status or any other prohibited basis per RCW 49.60.030, 040 and other federal and state laws and regulations, or participation in the complaint process. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies and Title IX compliance for both the Wenatchee and Omak campuses: 

To report discrimination or harassment: Title IX Coordinator, Mish ee twie 1321A, (509) 682-6716, title9@wvc.edu. 

To request disability accommodations: Student Access Manager, Wenatchi Hall 2133, (509) 682-6854, TTY/TTD: dial 711, sas@wvc.edu.