WNA hands out scholarship

Wisconsin Nursery Association has selected Sarah Jeanne Ricker to receive the $1,000 WNA Scholarship. Ricker is a senior at UW-Madison, majoring in landscape architecture and horticulture. She credits her family’s large ornamental garden, which she says has now overtaken the backyard, with developing her interest in plants as a young girl. 

Ricker’s first job was at a landscape supply and garden center called Rock Gardens in Lino Lakes, Minn., which is her hometown. She ended up working there for five summers. Last summer, Ricker stayed in Madison and interned at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. 

After her spring 2012 graduation from UW, Ricker plans to complete a two-year internship and become a registered landscape architect. She enjoys origami, fencing, gardening, and showing her cat through the International Cat Association (TICA). Ricker is the current president of the UW Horticulture Society, and has been involved with the organization since her freshman year, as secretary and vice president as well.