Just a couple of weeks into the school year, Rancho Cielo’s 11th annual Veggie Box & BBQ Fundraiser—one of Monterey County’s largest community-involved fundraising events—once again proved what it has […]
News
Rancho Cielo’s Classic Car Program Keeps Vanishing Craft Alive
Most people come to Monterey Car Week to admire automotive history. At Rancho Cielo, students are learning how to preserve it. This year, two recent graduates helped do just that […]
Inside Rancho Cielo’s Reimagined Ag Tech Program
It is a sunny afternoon in May, and three goats are being blow-dried patiently near their pen at Hope, Horses & Kids’ stables, Rancho Cielo’s onsite nonprofit partner. Their fur […]
Rancho Celebrates Largest Graduating Class in its History
Rancho Cielo marked a historic milestone on Friday, June 12, when 93 students received their high school diplomas in what stands as the largest graduating class in the nonprofit’s […]
Rancho Cielo Partners with AIM Youth Mental Health
When students at Rancho Cielo sat down to design their own peer-to-peer survey questions, they didn’t ask about academic stress or college applications. Instead, they asked about safety and conflict […]
Nico Hernandez and the Discipline of Becoming a Chef
There is a moment—he will tell you this himself, though not in so many words—when everything rearranges. It happens not in the kitchen, not exactly, but somewhere between the work […]
Ranch Cast
The Legend Continues
Episode 47: A discussion about one of the peninsula’s great traditions, the Monterey Jazz Festival, with Managing Director Bobbie Young. Bobbie fills us in on this year’s highlights along with […]
Let’s Hear it for the Boys & Girls Club
Episode 46: An interesting program on this century old nonprofit, which is so very valuable to our community. Jose Moran and Isaiah Nickerson join us along with our student cohosts Jose […]
All About Leadership
Episode 45: Terrific program this week as Drummond Culinary Academy GM Wanda Straw joins us to talk about her fascinating past and Rancho Cielo’s bright future. Culinary star grad, Tony […]
Native Plant Bootcamp
Episode 44: A fun, informative program from the Native Plant Boot Camp held at Ranch Cielo earlier this summer. Rancho’s own, Master Gardener Julie Lorenzen is joined by other Master […]
Priceless
Episode 43: Interesting program from Rancho Cielo’s Classic Car Education Day. We welcome Board Member and good friend of Rancho, Bill Hayward who shares the fascinating backstory on his 1934 […]
To Protect, Serve and Begin a Career
Episode 42: Salinas Police Chief Carlos Acosta and Fire Chief Samuel Klemek join us for the hour for a discussion on career opportunities. Sargent Zak Dunagan, Assistant Fire Chief Dave […]
Featured Newsletter
2026 Summer Newsletter
On Friday, June 12, Rancho Cielo marked a historic milestone when 93 students received their high school diplomas in the largest graduating class the nonprofit has ever seen. Held in partnership with John Muir Charter Schools, the commencement brought together graduates from across Rancho Cielo’s vocational programs and Silver Star Youth Program in an emotional celebration of perseverance and possibility.
The ceremony’s emotional peak came when Jose Manuel Mendoza-Avina, a Construction & Sustainable Design Academy graduate, took the podium as student speaker, a surprise to his father and grandmother seated in the audience. Despite growing up without his mother and falling in with the wrong crowd, Mendoza-Avina found direction through Rancho Cielo’s construction program, the Ranch Cast podcast and AIM Youth Mental Health’s Ideas Lab. “If you can take one thing from my story,” he said, “Things take time, and sometimes things do not go as planned, but don’t give up.”
