We hope you enjoy this series where we meet and get to know employees from across campus. Would you like to be featured? Contact us at campusnews@csufresno.edu.

Name: Sara Larson
Title: Equine Enterprise Manager
Department: Agricultural Foundation
Academic Degree(s): Bachelor's of Animal Science, Fresno State

How long have you worked at Fresno State? I have been working here for 4 and a half years now. I started as a student employee at the Quarter Horse Unit shortly after I moved to Fresno. Right after I graduated I was offered the position of equine enterprise manager, which I have been doing for the past two and a half years.

Are you a Valley native? If not, what brought you to the area and Fresno State? I transferred here in fall 2018 to finish my bachelor's degree in animal science: equine science. Before moving to Fresno, I lived in Santa Maria for a short period of time.

Do you have a campus mentor or someone who has helped you in your career? I have had many wonderful mentors in my journey here. Probably the person with the most impact on my career is Dr. Fabio Iared. I met Fabio as a student taking his classes and while I was a student employee at the Quarter Horse Unit. Throughout my time as manager, Fabio has always been a source of great advice and encouragement for me.

Tell us about your department and what people may not know about it. The Quarter Horse Unit is a fully functional horse facility with about 25 horses of various ages at any given time. Student employees and volunteers help with all aspects of our program from breeding, to foaling out, to raising and training our young horses. In addition to the horses kept at the unit for education purposes, we also house student-owned horses, and help with the equestrian team’s horses.

What are you most passionate about in your position and why? From a young age I always knew I wanted to work with large animals, but I grew up down in the L.A. area which is not known for its agriculture. When I finally got to transfer here, I finally got to immerse myself in my area of passion. One of the things I love about the Quarter Horse Unit is we accept people from all different backgrounds and skill levels and teach them how to work with horses. Being accepted and taught at the Quarter Horse Unit was such a big step in my life and I love being able to create that experience and opportunity for others.

What is a memorable moment you had at your job? One of my favorite parts of my job is foaling season. We have on average five to eight mares that have a foal (baby horse) every year between March and May. It is heartwarming to see new life come into the world, and I enjoy teaching the student employees and volunteers about the process. Although every foaling process is exciting, my personal favorite was one of the mares in 2019. I was a student then and it was one of the very first mares I got to watch foal out. What makes it even more special to me now is I ended up purchasing that foal a year later and she is now my personal horse. Getting to see her and assist her in her first moments of life is something that will always be special to me.

What do you like to do for fun in your spare time? I have two dogs I often walk with around the Quarter Horse Unit during nice weather. In my spare time I also love to ride my personal horse, who I keep at the unit. She was born and raised on campus and I purchased her before graduating from here.

What is something interesting about you that most people don’t know? I was not born into agriculture and have worked hard in recent years to gain the knowledge I have while completing my degree. Most of my childhood years were spent in the L.A. area, with occasional trips to the L.A. Equestrian Center to drool at other people's horses.