ALCA Student Career Days Showcases Future Industry Employees

The event’s theme this year was “Celebrating 25 Years of Shaping the Future of the Landscape Industry.” Students competed against their peers and exhibited their skills in front of about 300 industry representatives who were on hand to observe and meet with potential employees. The three-day competition annually attracts students enrolled in interior/exterior, horticulture/landscape contracting programs from community and junior colleges and universities.

To make Student Career Days a success, ALCA relies on sponsorships from industry companies. Each year, the event features sponsors in three levels of major sponsorships that support the event’s full range of programs. This year’s silver sponsors were Husqvarna, Charlotte, N.C.; and TruGreen LandCare, Memphis, Tenn. Bronze sponsors were The Toro Company, Bloomington, Minn.; Environmental Industries, Calabasas, Calif.; and Pavestone Co., Grapevine, Texas.

Marking a high point in the event’s history, this year featured the first gold sponsorship in the history of the event. That sponsorship was supplied by STIHL Inc., Virginia Beach, Va. “I can’t think of a better way to demonstrate our commitment to encourage the growth and development of the green industry leaders of tomorrow,” said John Keeler, national training manager for STIHL.

“At a time when the nation is facing critical labor shortages in many industries, including our own, it is of even greater significance when corporations step forward and help,” said ALCA President Drew St. John, II, CLP. “As the first gold sponsor of ALCA Student Career Days, STIHL has demonstrated its commitment to the education and future of our industry.”

ALCA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS. The ALCA Educational Foundation was launched in November 1998 to provide monetary support to qualified students studying to become part of the green industry. The foundation has raised more than $1 million in pledges to date, including raising $600,000 in its first year from landscape contractors, industry suppliers and students.

Judges within the green industry rate scholarships applications based on grade point average, activities, course of study, letters of recommendation, demonstrated need and other factors. The same criteria is generally used for all scholarships, however, Founders may indicate a particular preference, such as a major in a specific field, for certain scholarships.

Students apply to a scholarship pool, the number of which varies annually depending on foundation funding. This year, 10 $1,000 scholarships and 12 $500 scholarships were awarded.

STIHL SCHOLARSHIP WINNER. As one of 11 companies in the ALCA Educational Foundation, STIHL presented a $1,000 scholarship to a worthy student. On her home turf, CSU senior Stacie Mozer, a landscape horticulture major graduating this May, won the STIHL scholarship.

Originally form Nebraska, Mozer earned an associates degree in business administration from Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Neb. She moved to Colorado and discovered her love of landscape design while working as a landscape technician in Breckenridge. She then joined CSU’s landscape horticulture program with a concentration in design and construction.

“The job opportunities out there are so diverse,” Mozer said, “but I definitely want to be a designer. I want to create. To have an influence on people’s enjoyment of their special places, that’s a real joy for me.”

Mozer also did well during the Student Career Days competition, placing in two of the three events she entered - a first place in Exterior Landscape Design and a third place with CSU teammate Rebecca Braaten in Personnel Management.

Adding to the CSU student accomplishments on their home turf, Braaten captured the overall Student Career Day college title.

For more information about ALCA Student Career Days visit ALCA’s Web site at www.alca.org.