Long Island Flower Growers’ Association has awarded its 1st scholarship to Maria Figueroa of Farmingdale State College of New York. The association established a scholarship fund with the American Floral Endowment in 2010 after fund-raising for more than 12 years.
Figueroa finished her associate’s degree in horticulture from Farmingdale State College in 2009 and is currently working toward her B.S. degree. She has conducted internships at both Farmingdale State College and Cornell University’s Long Island Horticultural Research & Extension Center.
The LIFGA scholarship is intended for students from New York who are studying ornamental horticulture or a related field at a community college or a four-year institution. Now that an endowment has been established for the scholarship, it will be awarded to a Long Island/New York student on an annual basis. Applications must be submitted on-line before May 1.
Pictured: Long Island Flower Growers’ Association president Mike Pazienza (left), presents the 1st LIFGA Scholarship to Maria Figueroa along with Cornell Univ. horticulture professor Mark Bridgen, chair of the scholarship committee.