WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – A dual-majoring Pennsylvania College of Technology student has received a $1,700 scholarship from the American Floral Endowment, one of 21 students nationwide sharing $54,500 in total awards.
Penn College honoree Rebecca Cornish, of Lewisburg, is pursuing an associate degree in landscape/horticulture technology: plant production emphasis and a bachelor’s degree in business administration: management concentration. Despite full-time employment, and a work-study position in the horticulture lab at the college’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center, she has consistently been on the Dean’s List.
AFE’s Vocational (Bettinger, Holden and Perry) Scholarship – named for a trio of industry champions – requires students to be in a one- or two-year program with the intent to become a grower or greenhouse manager. Upon graduation in May, Cornish said, she will use her management degree to create a business plan and apply for grant funding to operate a small farm and restaurant using organic methods.
“The horticulture degree will help enable me to offer sustainable and regenerative agriculture on this farm, which will include pasture-raised chickens, orchards, crops, gardens and greenhouses, to offer year-round fresh produce to my community as well as provide the food that will be served in the restaurant,” she explained. “I want to offer a true farm-to-table experience in an environmentally responsible way.”
The American Floral Endowment is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the floriculture and horticulture industry through research funding, educational grants and scholarships.
“With the pool of high-quality candidates that AFE receives every year, it is inspiring to see the passion these scholars demonstrate in their work, study and research,” said Greg Royer, the organization’s treasurer/secretary and chair of its education committee. “AFE takes great pride in providing scholarships for these promising industry members, and we look forward to seeing where they will lead us.”
For more about horticulture and other majors in Penn College’s School of Engineering Technologies, visit www.pct.edu/et or call 570-327-4520. For more information about offerings within the School of Business, Arts & Sciences, visit www.pct.edu/bas or call 570-327-4505.
For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.