Pelet: How did you prepare for your career in orchid growing?

Luna: Two years ago, I finally obtained my associate of science degree with an emphasis in agriculture production. The summer before I graduated, I won a scholarship from the USDA through Hartnell Community College. That scholarship consisted of spending a week in Chicago, where, every year, one of the largest agricultural conferences on a global scale takes place: United Fresh.

This conference opened my eyes to just how vast the field of agriculture is and, more than anything, that the number of women [in the field] was not high. In my classes, there were always only two to five women. Even so, I kept taking classes to get ready for college and I got accepted. Before I matriculated for college though, my husband broke his foot and was immobile for a year. That turned me into the sole provider for my family. I had to put my studies on hold.

Pelet: How did you get the job at Matsui Nursery?

Luna: Six months after my husband’s injury, I visited the company. I visited Matsui Nursery when I graduated from school. During the summer, there was a two-week-long course where we visited different agriculture companies. Matsui Nursery was one of the companies we visited, and Teresa Matsui, the president of the company and the owner’s daughter, gave us a tour with the grower. There were 25 students, but it seemed like I was the one asking questions about PH levels, all of those things. I think that that’s what caught Mrs. Teresa’s attention.

At Matsui Nursery, the majority of supervisors,who have been with the company for almost thirty years, are men. I think that Teresa wanted to hire a woman, because everything was managed by men. When the visit ended, she gave me her card and told me that she was interested in chatting more with me. We talked after that visit, and she told me that she would very much like for me to learn more about the work at Matsui Nursery. She was giving me the opportunity to work a half-week here and a half-week at Sakata.

I talked to my boss at Sakata, where I had been working for nearly 10 years, and because he didn’t want to lose me completely, he told me that he was willing to let me split my time between both places. But before I made my decision, I remembered the saying, “He who serves two masters ends up disappointing one of them.” So I decided to take the great opportunity Teresa was giving me to learn from Mr. Arcadio, the main orchid grower who’s been growing orchids for more than 40 years.

I’m not going to deny that I was very scared because I had left Sakata before to work at another greenhouse. The management at that greenhouse were all male, and I ended up quitting. I was afraid the same thing could happen at Matsui. At first, there some who didn’t accept me. It was difficult, but in the end I was able to win over everyone. I understood that my chances of going to college now are a bit more slim, but, at the same time, another door opened because everything I have learned and hope to keep learning would not have happened anywhere else.