Floral students ended the semester with a bang; one week in southern California. Students made connections with top executives and owners of major companies in the florist industry. Students also toured famous gardens to learn the culture of the surrounding area. “I really understand why he went there” said Elizabeth Elisalde, a senior studying floral design. Elizabeth really loved seeing the trees and flowers along with all the industry stops. Among the many stops was B & H, Elizabeth said “they were so organized… and they let us get hands on with their flowers.” These students spent all winter semester learning advanced skills in floral design and event planning. They got to execute those skills in one of the biggest events in our department; the Annual Flower and Bridal show. As the semester came to a close they had the chance to meet the people in charge of producing the flowers they designed with. “We try to see things that affect what we do [as florists].” Said Ben Romney; the professor that facilitates the floral classes and trips. On the trip they try to see Las Vegas; specifically the Mirage and Bellagio hotels. We have had many interns in Las Vegas and it's a hot spot for designers in our industry. The trip is catered around seeing the L.A. Flower market; it’s such a diverse range of plant material and shows the students the potential they have as designers in our industry. Here are a few pictures from the trip:

For the last fifteen years our department has sent students to PLANET student Career days. This is a great opportunity for students not only to network with over 85 different companies in the landscape industry, but to show them what they can do as they graduate. There were 65 different schools from all over the nation totaling over 850 students. Students get a chance to show what they have learned in classes at  almost 30 different events. Some of these events include Arboriculture techniques, business management, construction cost estimating, irrigation troubleshooting, and more. They even include identification events like interior plant, annual & perennial, and turf & turf pest.  Most of these students have been practicing all year to show companies the skills they have honed. We had several students being handpicked by companies to come work for them. We have received 1st place multiply times; which tells the rest of the nation just how hard our faculty work to maintain such a great curriculum, and how hard our students work to not only learn the knowledge put before them but to apply it as well. This year we placed 2nd place out of 65 schools. We brought with us 17 students participating in 26 events. When you see them walking around congratulate them on a job well done. If you would like to review the scores click here.

AEF Scholarship winners – Dan Quakenbush, Trevor Stevens

Student Placements:
2nd Place in 3D Exterior Landscape Design – Ali Strate 84.50
2nd Place in Computer Aided Landscape Design – Garret Slezak 87.00
3rd Place in Exterior Landscape Design – Leanne Thompson 87.00
1st Place in Irrigation Troubleshooting – Dan Quakenbush and Cameron Rutter 200.00
1st Place in Maintenance Cost Estimating – Trevor Stevens 100.00
3rd Place in Wood Construction – Trevor Stevens and Garret Slezak 176.00
3rd Place in Irrigation Design – Cameron Rutter 86.00
3rd Place in Leadership Skills – Garret Slezak 92.33
1st Place in Tractor Loader Backhoe Operation – Eric Anderson 99.00

Students from the Department of Applied Plant Science gathered last night in camaraderie with fellow students and faculty. We ate Steak, we drank fresh apple juice, and we were merry with all. Nine student received awards that night for excellence in their prospective degrees.When you see them in hallways and classes remember to congratulate these students on there hardwork.





·         Agriculture Education
                o   Steton Johnson
                o   Holly Jones

·         Agronomy Crop Soil Science
                o   Chad Blackburn
                o   Sara Cortopassi
                o   Terik Birch

·         Horticulture Design/Build/Maintain
                o   Dan Quakenbush
                o   Leanne Thompson

·         Horticulture Floral Design
                o   Monika Hawker

·         Horticulture Production
                o   Zak Noriega

Do you know what time of year it is? The Department Social is here. Join the whole Department for an awards ceremony followed by a delicious steak dinner prepared by Daniel Dewey on October 22nd. To celebrate fall and the coming holiday we will be having a COSTUME OPTIONAL party with hot apple cider, popcorn and festive games. Please RSVP and bring your Immediate families(no roommates). Meet us at 5:30 in BEN 287

The New Year started off with a bang for Sis. Infanger and two Floral Students, Haley Van Meeteren, and Lauren Smith. Each year Sis. Infanger takes a couple of Floral students with her to Pasadena, CA to help design floats the parade of all parades. This year was no different other than they were working for a new company called Fiesta Parade Floats. The first day teacher and students helped prep many of the different floats.  The next day they were assigned two floats of their own to design, Aids Healthcare Foundation and Beverly Hills Petcare Association. The parade had 100 entries with around 30 being just floats. Both floats that  Sis. Infanger, Van Meeteren, and Smith were working on won awards. The Beverly Hills Petcare Association won the Lathrop K. Leishman award for most beautiful non-commercial float. The Aids Healthcare Foundation for most effective use and display of roses in concept, design, and presentation.  The  company as a thank you gave Sis. Infanger, Haley, and Lauren all tickets to see the parade. Fiesta Parade Floats has asked us to come back next year which will be more than a treat because it is the 125th anniversary.