Alex Capi Gets After It
Alex Capi gets after it. Always has, which is why he’s a Field Staff Manager for Stemilt at twenty-six years old. It’s why, back when he was a junior at Washington State University, he supervised Stemilt’s whole receiving crew during the second half of harvest that year, working five days a week and going to school for two. It’s why, after graduation, he took on not one but two jobs at Stemilt, working a crossbreed role of horticulturist plus receiving supervisor, created expressly for him. It’s why he loves the long hours and long miles of his job, loves the small growers he works with, loves the fruit itself.
No, there was never any doubt that Alex was going to be successful. Not with his work ethic, instilled in him growing up in Orondo, where as a teen he worked general labor for Van Winkle Orchards, a Stemilt grower. His parents told him, “Nobody’s just going to hand you anything for free … you’ve got to work for it.” Yes, Alex’s work ethic meant he was always destined for big things, but there was a time when the what and the how weren’t clear for him, a time when a little bit of WAEF went a long way.
Alex started his studies as a WAEF student at Wenatchee Valley College, intending to major in electrical engineering. It only took one calculus class for him to learn that wasn’t what he wanted: “Cranking out numbers is not for me.” And it only took one Stemilt warehouse tour hosted by WAEF for him to discover what he did want: “Wow, what an amazing facility. I want to work here.” He immediately switched his major to agriculture, in typical Alex get-after-it fashion. Soon after, WAEF sponsored him to attend the annual WSTFA horticulture convention, where he met with several mentors, got a big-picture understanding of the tree fruit industry and its jobs, and networked with his trademark zeal. And just like that, Alex’s what and how both became clear to him.
“WAEF’s money isn’t what helped me the most,” Alex will tell you. Don’t get him wrong: the tuition assistance was huge and very much appreciated. It’s just that the insights and guidance he gained through WAEF’s Beyond the Scholarship activities were even bigger: the mentorship, career tours, networking, mock interviews. Alex even found his first Stemilt internship through a posting on WAEF’s website. In a full-circle moment, his hiring manager and future mentor, Jake Gutzwiler, was himself a WAEF alumni and volunteer. For Alex, WAEF provided exactly the kind of student-driven support he needed to take off.
Alex now volunteers regularly with WAEF, giving job-shadow ride-alongs to the next crop of WAEF students and mentoring them at the annual horticulture convention. “WAEF is someone you can’t say no to,” Alex says. “I’m forever in their debt.” Gratitude is certainly part of the reason Alex is such a committed volunteer. But it also comes from a deeper place, from his love for the tree fruit community and the hard work they share. He knows firsthand what a difference he can make, that a little WAEF goes a long way. And that’s exactly what he’d say to anyone considering donating or volunteering: “Your impact is much bigger than you think. It goes a lot further than you think it does.”
Make sure to check back with Alex in twenty or thirty years. His story will be even more impressive, as will the stories of the WAEF students he’s mentored. And Alex will still be getting after it.