Four students named beneficiaries of Spring Meadow Proven Winners HRI scholarships

Spring Meadow Nursery and the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) are pleased to announce the recipients of 2019-2020 Spring Meadow - Proven Winners® Endowment Fund scholarships.

Dale & Liz Deppe established the Spring Meadow - Proven Winners® Endowment Fund with HRI in 1999 with the belief that bright, well-trained, qualified people are essential to the green industry and that backing motivated students plays a vital role in protecting and growing the industry. Through HRI, the AmericanHort Foundation acts as the administrator of endowments that help students to obtain the education necessary to successfully pursue horticultural careers.

“Our team has been blessed by this industry and the mentors who’ve helped us along the way. These scholarships represent our commitment to continue the encouragement of emerging professionals,” said Dale Deppe. “We are pleased to be able to support these students in such a direct way.”

Horticulture students Noah Brown, Jacklyn Stupienski, Amber Lancaster, and Mary Tuski were each awarded $2500 scholarships for the 2019-2020 granting period, bringing the total amount of awards distributed through the fund to $83,750. The students were chosen from a competitive national applicant pool for their academic achievements, exemplary leadership abilities, and commitment to pursuing careers in horticulture. 

Noah Brown is a junior at North Carolina State University where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in agricultural business management. After graduation, he hopes to study agritourism in the Netherlands and eventually plans to work toward obtaining a management position in the horticulture industry. Noah is a members of the NC State horticulture club and has interned at Greenleaf Nursery Company in Tarboro, NC.

Jacklyn Stupienski is entering her second year of a 2-year horticulture program at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, CT. She has received the CT Horticulture Society Scholarship, and a merit scholarship for outstanding GPA and achievement. Jacklyn’s interests include design, propagation and growing, and last year she was accepted into the summer internship program at Monrovia. After she graduates, she hopes to apply for opportunities that involve growing, propagation, or sales.

An outstanding student, Amber Lancaster just started her senior year at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville and is especially interested in propagation, breeding, and grafting of fruit trees to find the most disease-resistant cultivars for Northwest Arkansas. She is currently an intern at the University of Arkansas in the Plant Pathology department where she is learning about types of pests and pathogens that can affect the plants in both field and greenhouse production. Amber has been a member of Gamma Beta Phi, Phi Theta Kappa, Baptist Collegiate Ministry and the on-campus Horticulture Club.

Currently a senior at Michigan State University, Mary Tuski is working toward her bachelor’s degree and plans to pursue a master’s degree in nursery production with a career goal of working in woody and tree production after she graduates. Mary is a member of the Michigan State Student Horticulture Association where she has served as vice president and now is the president of the organization. She also has attended the CareerUp program at Cultivate for three years and has gained hands-on experience in the horticulture industry working as a landscape laborer, a farm intern, and multiple stints as a research assistant in the MSU horticulture lab.

A total of 33 Spring Meadow-Proven Winners® endowed scholarships have been awarded to students since 2004. Scholarship applications for 2021 will open in April, 2020. Individuals who are interested in applying for a scholarship can check the HRI website or contact Jennifer Gray, HRI Administrator, at (614) 884-1155 for more scholarship application details.

The Horticultural Research Institute, founded in 1962, has provided more than $8 million in student scholarships and research grants for projects covering a broad range of production, environmental, and business issues important to the green industry. Nearly $11 million is committed to the endowment by individuals, corporations, and associations.