GIE Media awards $10,000 in scholarships

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lawn & Landscape and the GIE Media Horticulture Group awarded students $10,000 in scholarships.

Lauren Garcia of Texas A&M University and Trenton Spratling of Brigham Young University both received $5,000 and were the first recipients of GIE Media’s Horticultural Scholarship Program, which was launched in October 2010.

“Students at the top horticulture programs in the United States are the future of the green industry,” Richard Foster, CEO and founder of GIE Media said when the program was launched. “Our contributions – and those from companies and suppliers across the industry – will help support the academic and business education of these students and ensure their continued success.”

Garcia and Spratling were presented the scholarships during a presentation at OFA Short Course in Columbus, Ohio.

Garcia, who will be a senior in the fall, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture, studying landscape architecture and working on a minor in urban and regional planning.

Since 2009, she has worked in multiple capacities at Texas A&M greenhouses. Garcia studied abroad in Guatemala, working with local farmers on how to better manage crops and developing gardens for schools and rural communities. She also studied abroad in Costa Rica, where she learned about sustainability and designed an ecological visitor education center for a rainforest trail.

“My goals are to graduate Summa Cum Laude, earn my master’s degree, and then proceed to become a director for a botanical garden or arboretum after several years work in the public garden sector,” Garcia said.

Trenton Spratling is expected to graduate from Brigham Young in December with a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Management.

Spratling has been heavily involved with PLANET, becoming a landscape industry certified member and attending Student Career Days and the Green Industry Conference. He has completed an internship with ValleyCrest Landscape Cos. in Las Vegas and is currently an intern with Pacific Landscape Management in Hillsboro, Ore. After starting his career, Spratling would like to get his master’s in public or business administration.

“I want to be accepted for full-time employment by a PLANET member whose culture I fit with,” he said. “My desire is to bring value to a company I work for by learning about each aspect of landscape contracting so I can be part of business operations and decisions.”

To be eligible for a scholarship, students had to be enrolled at a recognized two-or four-year college or university and working toward a degree in horticulture, environmental science or other fields related to a segment of the green industry.