26 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 19-25, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com FACE TO FACE When Jose Pablo “JP” Dundore-Arias joined CSU Monterey Bay as a faculty member in 2019, he quickly noticed a gap: despite agriculture being Monterey County’s largest economic sector—supporting about one in five regional jobs—CSUMB offered no pathway for students to study it. Students interested in the field had to leave the county to continue their education, which he saw as a missed opportunity. “We were the first agriculture degree the university launched,” he says. “Our goal was to train local students to work with local crops and address the needs of the local industry.” Since then, Dundore-Arias has helped grow CSUMB’s agricultural programs from seven students to more than 150 today. His teaching emphasizes real-time challenges facing local growers, hands-on fieldwork on plant diseases and mentorship through partnerships with local USDA labs. On Jan. 22, the USDA named Dundore-Arias one of two early-career teacher honorees for the 2025 Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences, placing CSUMB alongside major research universities nationwide. But Dundore-Arias says teaching was never his original plan. Weekly: You grew up in Costa Rica, tell me about that. Dundore-Arias: I grew up in the city, born and raised in San Jose, but my most vivid memories are that my neighborhood used to be surrounded by coffee plantations, those were our places that we played as kids. Unfortunately, all of those plantations have been turned into apartments. But it allowed me to grow up with exposure to what agriculture looks like. You farmed in Costa Rica after finishing college there. I had the opportunity to start working as a grower with one of my colleagues. We were small-scale producers, growing our produce and selling it off the back of a truck. We were growing lettuce, cucumber and other vegetable crops. Agriculture in Costa Rica is mostly tropical fruits, but also vegetables, and the weather is very similar to that here in the Salinas Valley. What informed what you decided to research next? It was never my intention to leave Costa Rica or even go to grad school. As a first generation student, I graduated from college, and had achieved what I thought was success. One day, I got a call from a professor who said that there was a group of students from Iowa coming to Costa Rica, and he asked if they could stop by our plot. Afterwards, he asked me if I considered continuing my education. That was completely eye-opening for me. I immediately said no, but he took me under his wing. You then studied in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota before coming to Monterey County. What stands out to you the most from that time? It was difficult. I arrived in Iowa on Jan. 5. I’d never been outside of the country, never seen snow. I had no idea what cold meant at that magnitude. I didn’t know English and went to school to learn. I always thought I would get a master’s and then come back and get a job at a big ag company in Costa Rica. Something that really resonated with me when I arrived was a person who worked in admissions, who was waiting for me on the first day of school. She told me, “You’re very lucky that you had that person who helped you, because nobody wanted to accept your application, but he stood up for you.” I was so homesick, but at the same time he saw something in me, and since then, I wanted to prove to him that he wasn’t wrong. When did you know you wanted to teach? In Wisconsin. My professor was teaching a class in food security, and she asked me to help her teach that class because I had experience in agriculture outside of the U.S. That experience motivated me, and helped me feel more comfortable in the classroom. In what ways are you seeing local food systems change the most? Definitely ag tech. I’m not only talking about automation and robots, but we now have the ability to collect data about our crops, to visualize things in the field in a way that we couldn’t before, and incorporate AI across the entire food systems pipeline. I see great opportunities for technology and innovation to be implemented at the same time I see the industry facing major challenges with pests and diseases. What is your favorite meal from home? When I need comfort food, it’s usually rice and beans. Gallo pinto. Greener Future Recently awarded a national honor, CSUMB’s Jose Pablo Dundore-Arias’ path to teaching was not linear. By Katie Rodriguez “We have students that have gone through very unique life experiences,” says Jose Pablo Dundore-Arias. “I always remind them they’re here not because of luck, but because they’ve worked hard to get here.” DANIEL DREIFUSS Small enough to ride in a pouch, bold enough to run the house. Zelda enjoys sunny yard strolls and being carried close. She recently lost one eye and is healing beautifully. She prefers to be the only dog and the main character. Zelda Want to meet Zelda? Please fill out our online adoption questionnaire. Things to love: approx. 13 years old 5 pounds - female - Chihuahua mix If you’d like sponsor our next ad, please give us a call. 831-718-9122 | www.POMDR.org P.O. Box 51554, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 Ad Sponsored by C & C Repair Inc. German Car Specialist www.CCRepairMonterey.com In Memory of Dirk
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