AmericanHort announces 2018 HortScholars

COLUMBUS, Ohio — AmericanHort is proud to encourage and support students as they aspire to a diverse array of horticulture careers. The HortScholars program aims to identify these future leaders and give them a platform to network, grow, and work at North America's premier horticulture event, Cultivate’18.

“AmericanHort received an unprecedented number of applicants from across the country to the HortScholars program this year, said Mary Beth Cowardin, AmericanHort’s vice president of marketing and member engagement. “This program has become very competitive, and we take this as a positive indication that the younger generation is indeed interested in establishing a career in horticulture.”

2018 HortScholars

• Carly Dalton – Horticultural technician, Niagara Parks School of Horticulture, Canada
  
• Melissa Eggleston – Horticultural science, minor in agribusiness management, Michigan State University
  
• Coralie Farinas – Plant pathology, PhD candidate, The Ohio State University
  
• Rhiannon Newton – Horticulture, West Virginia University
  
• Raymond Odeh – Horticultural science, Masters, University of Florida
  
• Aaron Sledge – Horticulture, plant production emphasis, Pennsylvania College of Technology
  

The AmericanHort HortScholars Program sets students in horticulture on a path to success by exposing them to the breadth of the horticulture industry, its opportunities, and its leaders. The program chooses six applicants each year and offers a beyond-the-classroom experience.

The HortScholars will be onsite at Cultivate beginning Wednesday, July 11 in Columbus, Ohio. While there, they will have the opportunity to see the event from start to finish - helping with setup, networking with industry leaders, attending multiple education sessions as well as CareerUP, a one-day workshop tailored to emerging horticulture professionals to help expand their professional skills, define their future, and navigate the green industry career ladder. To learn more about CareerUP, visit Cultivate18.org/CareerUP.

The Hort Scholars program is just one example of how AmericanHort showcases horticulture as an exciting and rewarding career path for students. Encouraging the brightest minds and providing them with rewarding and fun opportunities is part of the AmericanHort purpose to help the industry grow faster, perform better, and prepare for the future.

To learn more about the HortScholars Program and this year’s HortScholars, visit AmericanHort.org/HortScholars.

Photos courtesy of AmericanHort (from left to right: Dalton, Sledge, Farinas, Newton, Odeh and Eggleston)