PGMS awards five college students

Forest Hill, MD – The Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) has announced five green industry students as the 2018 collegiate scholarship recipients. The following students received the scholarships:

Alissa Wells, a landscape horticulture major at Kansas State University, received $4,000. Her life goal is to become a landscape manager. She is a member of the horticulture club and plans to attend the National Collegiate Landscape Competition this spring.

Mary Carr, a marketing major in the College of Business at Kansas State University, received $3,000. She is a member of the university’s honors program. Her life goal is to become a marketing manager at a landscape company. Last summer, GIE Media, Lawn & Landscape’s parent company, selected Carr to be its Horticultural Scholarship recipient, as well. Lawn & Landscape magazine named her the winner of its annual Richard Foster Award, which recognizes outstanding students planning careers in the landscape, lawn care or horticulture business. Read more about that award here.

ShayeAlta A. Naaf, a landscape horticulture major at Kansas State University, received $3,000. Her life goal is to be the owner of a landscape company, where she would both oversee maintenance and installation.

Toni Hudspath, a horticulture major at Kansas State University, received $1,000. Her goal “is to find an entry-level position where I am able to learn new horticultural techniques, develop my plant identification skills and gain hands-on experience for my future career.”

McKynzie Mann, a horticulture major at Kansas State University, received $1,000. Her goal is to become a landscape designer. She is an active member of the horticulture club and a crew leader for landscape maintenance in the landscape areas around the college’s building.

All students were sponsored by Dr. Cathie Lavis, an associate professor at Kansas State University.

“The scholarship program is a wonderful way to recognize interns that work for you or college students you meet in the industry,” said Kent Bagnell, scholarship committee chairman at PGMS. PGMS wishes the recipients well in the future and hope the scholarship will open doors to additional opportunities in their pursuit of being a green industry professional.

Each year, the PGMS scholarship committee awards scholarships to students in horticulture or related fields. The awards committee looks for students who have solid grades and past or current employment in the green industry. Students must be sponsored by a PGMS member. For more information about the scholarship, click here.