San Luis Obispo, Calif. – The Shinoda Foundation is pleased to announce that Kansas State University’s Megan Haresnape is the 2018-19 Shinoda Scholar of the Year – the Foundation’s highest award.
“Megan’s drive and discipline stood out as exceptional among the talented aspiring horticulturists we reviewed,” says Bob Otsuka, president of the Shinoda Foundation. “As the first generation of her family to attend college, she also is a great example of how horticulture’s next generation is working to grow our industry.”
Megan is a 21-year-old senior from Lebanon, Kansas, majoring in Horticulture with a minor in Agribusiness. She is working toward a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in Greenhouse Production.
Her goal is to own and operate a production greenhouse. In a letter of recommendation, an employer wrote, “Megan is honest, conscientious, courteous, responsible, calm, reliable and pleasant. She is the first generation in her family to attend college and has worked hard to succeed.”
Megan works in the greenhouses at Kansas State University, is secretary for the Horticulture Club and serves as a Kansas State University First Scholars Program Mentor. She has received several scholarships including the Shinoda Scholarship last year, Perennial Plant Association Scholarship, American Floral Endowment Scholarship and the National Garden Clubs Scholarship.
The Shinoda Foundation Board of Trustees awarded eleven scholarships this year totaling $20,000 and provided grants to the winners’ colleges and universities. Since 1965, The Shinoda Foundation has awarded more than $867,000 in scholarships to 697 students.
About the Joseph Shinoda Memorial Scholarship Foundation
The Shinoda Foundation was established in 1964 under the auspices of the California State Florists’ Association in memory of the late Joseph Shinoda, a highly regarded pioneer of that state’s floral industry. The foundation’s purpose is to encourage educational opportunities for young people interested in entering the industry. Incorporated as a separate entity in 1972, the foundation has awarded scholarships valued at more than $867,000 to 697 undergraduate floriculture students since 1965.
Information about applications for the Shinoda Foundation’s scholarships is sent each January to horticulture and floriculture departments at universities across the nation. Applications are available on the foundation’s website, www.shinodascholarship.org, and accepted from January until March 30 each year.
Information about making contributions to the foundation or about its scholarship program can be obtained from its website, www.shinodascholarship.org, or by writing to: Joseph Shinoda Memorial Scholarship Foundation Inc., 962 Pecho St., Morro Bay, CA 93442, or Pat Broering at pbroerin@gmail.com.
Source: Joseph Shinoda Memorial Scholarship Foundation