HRI announces Bryan A. Champion Scholarship recipient

WASHINGTON, DC and COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Horticulture Research Institute (HRI) named Nathan Nordstedt as the 2017-2018 recipient of the Bryan A. Champion Memorial Scholarship.

This year’s scholarship recipient, Nathan Nordstedt, is pursuing a graduate degree at The Ohio State University, but has been involved in horticulture since he was young.

“I always thought that I would pursue a career in horticulture,” states Nordstedt. His first experience of horticulture was spending time among his great-grandmother’s tulips and tomatoes followed by his his first job at a local nursery. While growing chrysanthemums in high school, Nordstedt began his own greenhouse business and developed hands-on skills in plant production. During his undergraduate studies at Kansas State University, Nordstedt was a member of the Kansas State Horticulture Club, had industry internships at Iseli Nursery and Ball Horticultural, and studied abroad for a semester in the Czech Republic through which he attended the Chelsea Flower Show and the European Flower Trials.

Nordstedt credits his background in the industry for giving him an appreciation for the challenges within horticulture as well as leading him to keep the industry at the forefront of his career objectives as he seeks further education to improve floriculture crops. His dedication and commitment is visible to others in both his academic and professional careers as professed by Dr. Alan Bowers of Ball Horticultural, “Nathan has demonstrated a lifelong passion and enthusiasm for ornamentals, and he brought those traits to the laboratory.” As a PhD student, Nordstedt took sole responsibility to collect and isolate strains of bacteria that can confer drought tolerance to horticulture crops grown in greenhouse systems.

The scholarship was established in honor of Bryan A. Champion, a 5th generation nurseryman with a passion for the nursery and landscape industry. He sought to advance the industry through sound leadership, volunteer participation, and peer-to-peer networking and education events.

Nordstedt will be recognized in person by the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association at their annual trade show and convention, MGIX, on Jan.14, 2018.