San Luis Obispo, Calif. – The Shinoda Foundation has awarded its highest honor, the Shinoda Scholar of the Year, to Mikaela Hermstedt, a Horticulture major at The Pennsylvania State University.
“Future growers like Mikaela embody our industry’s potential,” said Bob Otsuka, president of the Shinoda Foundation. “It’s our privilege to help support that passion.”
Mikaela, a 21-year-old senior from Lincoln, Delaware, plans to pursue a career in commercial greenhouse production of flowering plants. One professor recommending her for the award noted, “I would rank Mikaela as one of my top students in the past 10 years at Penn State in terms of work ethic, but also in terms of attention to detail, cooperative spirit and excellent communication skills.”
Mikaela has worked in the Penn State botany greenhouses and completed a Nursery Management Internship at Longwood Gardens. In addition, she has served as Collegiate FFA President, Agricultural Student Council President, International
Association of Agricultural Students Treasurer and as a Student Organization Resource Team Member. She has received numerous academic honors and scholarships.
The Shinoda Foundation Board of Trustees awarded six scholarships this year totaling $17,000 plus 10% grants to colleges and universities of $1,700, for a total of nearly $19,000. Since 1965, The Shinoda Foundation has awarded more than $826,250 in scholarships to 673 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 $826,250 to 673 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 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
