San Luis Obispo, Calif. – Eleven horticulture students from across the nation have been honored with annual Shinoda Foundation Scholarships totaling $21,000.
“The Shinoda Foundation thoughtfully selects our scholarship winners, based on their superior academics, career goals, extracurricular activities, work experience and need,” says Bob Otsuka, president. “We’re very aware that these elite students can play a key role in horticulture’s continued growth.”
2017-18 Shinoda Foundation Scholarship winners include:
- Megan Haresnape, Junior, Kansas State University, $5,000
- Olivia Fiala, Junior, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, $2,500
- Kaylee Ites, Junior, Texas A&M University, $1,500
- Melissa Eggleston, Junior, Michigan State University, $1,000
- Joanna Lambert, Sophomore, Louisiana State University, $1,000
- Leala Machesney, Junior, The University of Maine, $1,000
- Allyson Stolte, Senior, Delaware Valley University, $1,000
- Sarah Houtsman, Junior, University of Georgia, $500
- Katelyn Stoops, Senior, University of Missouri – Columbia, $500
This year, additional award winners include:
Alexandra Bickham, who received a $1,000 Shinoda Design Center scholarship. The award goes to a floral design student attending California community colleges in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. Bickham attends Cuyamaca College in El Cajon, California.
Gage Willey, who received a $1,000 California Floral Council Scholarship. Willey is majoring in Agriculture and Environmental Plant Science at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. The award is available only to applicants residing in California.
Since 1965, The Shinoda Foundation has awarded more than $847,250 in scholarships to 684 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 $847,250 to 684 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
