Shinoda Foundation awards nearly $20,000 to horticulture students, schools

San Luis Obispo, Calif. – The Shinoda Foundation has announced the winners of its annual scholarships, recognizing the best horticulture students in the nation.

“It’s so exciting each year to be part of the search for horticulture’s brightest as we present the Shinoda scholarships,” said Paul Ecke III, president of the Foundation. “Helping horticulture’s best plant seeds for the future is a true honor.”

This year the Shinoda Foundation Board of Trustees awarded 12 scholarships totaling $17,500, plus 10 percent grants to colleges and universities of $1,750, for a total of $19,250. By sending a portion of the awards to educational institutions, the Foundation hopes to help advance horticulture education nationwide. All told, the Foundation has awarded scholarships valued at over $777,000 to more than 650 undergraduate floriculture students since 1965.
Shinoda scholarship recipients are chosen after a rigorous review of criteria including career goals, academics, work experience, extracurricular activities and need.

Shinoda Foundation Scholarships

2013-14 recipients of the Shinoda Foundation Scholarships include:
Kellee Britt, Senior, $500, University of Florida
Jessica Gosar, Senior, $1,000, Utah State University
Joshua Henry, Junior, $2,500, The Ohio State University
Melinda Knuth, Sophomore, $500, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Mary Lacy, Senior, $1,500, Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo
Leah Malvar, Senior, $2,000, University of Arkansas
Rachel Maiorino, Sophomore, $500, Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo
Kristin Potter, Junior, $500, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
James Rockwell, Junior, $1,500, Virginia Tech
Billy Rose, Senior, $1,500, Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo

Floral Design Scholarship

Farah Hassan of Golden West College in Huntington Beach, Calif., received a $500 floral design scholarship from the Shinoda Design Center. The award recognizes exceptional floral design majors at community colleges in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties.

California Floral Council Scholarship

This year’s recipient of the California Floral Council (CFC) Scholarship is Mary Lacy of Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo. To help offset rising education costs, CFC President Hardy Neuendorff created the annual award in 2005.

About the Joseph Shinoda Memorial Scholarship Foundation

The Shinoda Foundation was established in 1964 under the auspices of the California State Florists’ Association in memory of the late Joseph Shinoda, a highly regarded pioneer of that state’s floral industry. The Foundation’s purpose is to encourage educational opportunities for young people interested in entering the industry.

Information about applications for the Shinoda Foundation’s scholarships is sent each January to horticulture and floriculture departments at universities across the nation. Applications are available on the Foundation’s website and accepted from January until March 30 each year.

Information about making contributions to the Foundation or about its scholarship program can be obtained from its website, www.shinodascholarship.org, or by writing to: Joseph Shinoda Memorial Scholarship Foundation Inc., 962 Pecho St., Morro Bay, CA 93442, or Pat Broering at pbroerin@gmail.com.