When Sandy Del Real talks about her time studying at Merced College after enrolling in 1984, she speaks first of the court.
“Being on the volleyball team was a blessing,” Del Real said. “I had eight new friends before school even started.”
Making those friends is how this Le Grand High and Fresno State alumna’s personal love affair with her other alma mater began. During two years at Merced College, Del Real gained an athletic, academic and social education that has informed her life for over 40 years.
“Merced College felt like home,” she said. “I grew as a person. My professors were so great, and my counselor Gary Clausen even helped keep a little bit of the ‘aggie’ in me.”
That last comment is a little wink at the fact that Del Real wanted to be a businesswoman, pulling away from her agriculture upbringing as a child of Raymond and Maria Giampaoli, founders of Live Oak Farms, a longstanding, successful farming, packing and shipping operation.
Del Real is currently a managing partner and co-owner at Live Oak Farms, which has also been an important supporter of Merced College for half a century.
“Merced College is in our blood,” she said.
Del Real jokes that she was so sheltered in Le Grand (est. pop. 1,636) that Merced (est. pop. 99,724) shone with excitement and possibility. A future with the family business was waiting for her, but Del Real craved adventure in Merced, some 25 miles away.
She always knew she’d attend Merced College. Her mother Maria (née Bianchi) studied and took enrichment courses there as an adult. Her older brother Bob Giampaoli played football for the Blue Devils, and her older sister Donna Vaughan was honored as the ag student of the year during her time on campus.
Del Real still appreciates her instructors, especially Biology Professor Ron Basmajian for sparking her love of science, Business Professor Michael De Ayora developing her business communication skills, and English Professor Steve Cassady for nurturing her writing skills and creativity.
Del Real also soaked up the experience of being a collegiate athlete. She said Blue Devil athletes supported each other enthusiastically during that era.
“Sometimes we’d compete—like our volleyball team would play water polo in inner tubes against our water polo team,” Del Real said. “We had so much fun. We did a lot of things like that. And our coach Desi Navarres took us to Hawaii to play. Going to Hawaii without my parents at 18? I had more fun there than I did at Fresno State!”
Del Real said she chose Merced College to save money, but it paid off in other ways.
“I got to know kids who were different than me,” she said. “Some of my teammates had part-time jobs just to afford school. We all helped each other out by picking each other up and taking people home after games and trips. We had the same classes. We came from different backgrounds, but we shared experiences. I became so well-rounded as a person. Attending Merced College broke me out of my shell.”
Del Real earned an A.A. in Educational Leadership and Administration at the college, then went to Fresno State to complete a B.S. in Marketing.
“I was kind of following my uncle Elmo Giampaoli,” Del Real said. “He was the only one of the three Giampaoli brothers, including my dad, who went to college. I even have my uncle’s college ring from Fresno College. I wanted to go into hotel and restaurant management.”
She spent eight years serving as a Merchandising Planner for the now-defunct Gottschalks department store. By then, she’d married Steve Del Real, a Le Grand High classmate, and they’d started their family.
“I loved working for Gottschalks, but when I had my son Carlo, my dad asked me to come home,” she said. “That was 1997. My dad asked me to help him with the business. He knew where I should be. And, you know, those years were precious. By coming home when I did, I really got to know my dad.”
Del Real and her siblings are among the third generation of growers in the Giampaoli family. Some of their children, the fourth generation, work at Live Oak Farms. The fifth generation—Del Real and her husband have two young granddaughters—has arrived.
The present and future for Sandy Del Real, her family and Live Oak Farms remains firmly tied to Merced College.
The past few months, the company also gave its public support to a big grant application for the North Valley THRIVE Catalyst Fund, and a contest proposal for National Association of Community Colleges Entrepreneurship 2026 Pitch for the Skilled Trades competition.
“It’s a challenge to keep our company running,” Del Real said. “But my goal is to do whatever we can to keep 300 people from Le Grand and Planada employed and to support our high school and local organizations. We have such a big connection with Merced College now, especially with community members like Jill Cunningham and Cody Jacobsen being leaders there. I see that growing with the next generation.”