HRI selects two UC Davis students for Usrey scholarship

Two University of California, Davis students have been named as recipients of funds stemming from the Usrey family of Monrovia. Katherine Brafford has been awarded $1,000 through the Usrey Family Scholarship and Ricardo Camargo will benefit from $500 through the Susie & Bruce Usrey Education Scholarship. Both scholarship funds are presented and managed through the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI), the AmericanHort Foundation.

Working on finishing up her senior year in the plant sciences program at UC, Davis, Brafford has gained leadership skills through opportunities to get her hands dirty working at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, and to become active with the Plant Sciences Club and the Plant Genomics Undergraduate Journal Club, among others. She enjoys participating in research to study the biological and ecological processes that impact the spread of weedy and invasive plants.

Brafford plans to work in northern California offering solutions to bridge the divide between researchers and laborers, potentially working with a university Extension program or land management agency upon graduation.

“From age 16 onwards, I have managed various ecological restoration projects on private land. I enjoy the outdoor work, careful research, planning, observation, and presentation of results,” she said.

Camargo is pursuing a master's degree in horticulture and agronomy at University of California, Davis. As the youngest of 11 siblings and the first in his family to ever graduate college, Camargo’s professors justifiably describe him as a born leader with an unrivaled work ethic. He is currently working on research involving the interaction of various minerals in plants to improve plant health. He has goals to build a career in mineral nutrition and eventually help improve California orchard management practices.

In addition, Camargo is committed to inspire other first-generation college students like himself, especially engaging more Latinos to consider pursuing higher education in STEM fields.

“Every day I am closer to fulfilling a mission that one day seemed unattainable,” he said.

Susie and Bruce Usrey of Monrovia Growers established the Usrey Family Scholarship in 2001 and the Susie & Bruce Usrey Education Scholarship in 2009. The Usrey family considers graduating students in horticulture to be the lifeblood of the green industry. These scholarships are awarded annually to horticulture students enrolled in a California state university or college.