ALEXANDRIA, VA – Additional funding opportunities are now available for junior and senior undergraduates through the Suntory Flowers “Dream Big!” Scholarship. This scholarship is established by Suntory Flowers to inspire innovation and encourage students to explore the many possibilities available to them within the floral industry. This scholarship joins 27 other scholarships available through the American Floral Endowment (AFE).
Suntory Flowers is establishing this scholarship as a part of their 20th Anniversary celebration. While Suntory celebrates their many achievements in innovation through flower breeding and genetics, they continue to spread the joy of gardening. Their dedicated network of unrooted cuttings producers and young plant operations around the globe, ensure that every grower and retailer has easy and reliable access to clean starter material for dependable production.
Based in Japan, Suntory Flowers is a world-class breeding company dedicated to innovation and enriching people’s lives by creating a world that’s alive with flowers. Suntory’s guiding philosophy and passion is “Yatte Minahare”― the spirit of bold ambition to dream big, take challenges and never give up. This means challenging conventional methods and striving to make the impossible possible, like creating the first blue rose or revolutionary new crops, such as Surfinia petunias, Sun Parasol mandevillas, and Million Bells calibrachoas.
The newly established Suntory Flowers “Dream Big!” Scholarship will be awarded to an undergraduate student (or students) in their junior or senior year, with a demonstrated focus on a career in floriculture, ornamental horticulture breeding, or production. The scholarship supports those with a passion for exploration in developing new and innovative floral products. The awardee(s) will receive $2,000 in funding towards their education.
Suntory understands the importance of supporting the next generation to ensure ongoing success, advancement, and growth of the floral industry. With this scholarship, we hope to continue the Suntory legacy of innovation for many more years to come. “Let’s inspire the next generation to dream big and go for it with the ‘Yatte Minahare’ spirit while contributing to the growth of our industry,” states Delilah Onofrey, Suntory Flowers’ Marketing Director.
By giving back to our industry through AFE, Suntory Flowers is providing for the future of floral. AFE’s scholarships help ease the financial burdens of students pursuing careers in our industry. This gives students a sense of security and encourages them to stay in the floral community.
The application for this scholarship will open on February 1, with AFE’s other scholarships through a new online platform. The annual application deadline for all AFE scholarships is May 1. Visit endowment.org/scholarships for more information.
