Quail Valley Garden Club

2013 Scholarship Winners

by Lynn Ellis, Scholarship Chair

Our Scholarship Committee reviews candidates for tuition scholarships each year. Each committee member reviews the applications independently before the group agrees on the winners.

Our college receipient has to major in Horticulture or a gardening-related subject. He or she must be a junior or above.

 

Cassie Warren related that there aren't
that many tuition scholarships available.

Cassie Warren is our college scholarship recipient. 

Cassie has just completed her first semester of graduate studies in Horticulture at A&M.  She plans to graduate with a Masters of Science in Horticulture.  Last summer she received the Lloyd Noble Ag Scholar Internship from the Noble Foundation.   During the regular school year, she is a student worker in the Plant Pathology & Microbiology Department where she helps with agriculture research.  She also works as a landscaper at the Wesley Foundation and has a Research Assistantship with Texas AgriLife.  She is active in the Horticulture Club, where she attended the regional and national conferences of the American Society for Horticultural Sciences in Alabama and Hawaii, respectively.  She also competed in the judging of horticulture commodities and served as Vice President of the Association of Collegiate Branches. 

Our high school winners are deserving young people with any major who are well-rounded academically, active in groups, and show leadership.

 

Joel Johnson's big smile reflects his thanks for his award.

Joel Johnson is the Elkins High School recipient.

Joel came to this country from India in the 8^th grade.  The family moved to Missouri City when Joel was in the 11^th grade. 

Since he started at Elkins, he has worked hard to master the English language and to excel academically.  He is placed in the top quarter of his graduating class.  His on campus activities include being on the Varsity Tennis Team, Varsity Choir, Student Council, Key Club, Habitat for Humanity, Teens Educating Against Racism, and the Desi Student Association. 

He is also a member of Youth in Philanthropy where he is a student volunteer at Sugar Land Methodist Hospital and the Houston Food Bank.  Honors he has achieved are being selected for the National Honor Society and the Science National Honor Society.  He is involved in his church’s youth group and choir.  Joel hopes to attend U of H Downtown and major in respiratory care and eventually acquire his masters to become a physician assistant.

 

Joel is pictured with his father at the luncheon.

 

 

 

 

Our members enjoy hearing about our college recipient's horticulture interests and the programs they have worked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Penny Johnson, Elkins HS Principal Barbara Whitaker and QVGC President Barbara Thompson.

 

 

To learn more about our scholarship process and requirements, press here.

 

Scholarship Chair Lynn Ellis
and Cassie Warren.

 

2012 Scholarship Awards

Anne McBride and the Scholarship Committee of Cindy Calender, Suzy Walters and Lynn Ellis awarded $4,500.00 in scholarships of $1500.00 each to two Elkins High seniors and a Texas A&M Senior. The process is rigorous and every application is rated individually by each committee member prior to meeting as a group to make the final selections. The winners are announced to QVGC at our May meeting. This year was quite a surprise for several members who knew the girls and/or their parents. With one exception, I believe this was a "first" since I have been writing about the winners.

Anne presented the awardees at our May 10 Installation at Aura Restaurant. Our two Elkins students, Jessica Landry and Carly Brightwell, and their parents could attend. Our A&M awardee, Brian Wheeler, was taking finals.

Anne McBride (left), Scholarship Chair with Carly Bridghtwell's parents.

Our college recipients are Junior and above students with Texas roots majoring in Horticulture or other gardening-related fields. Its purpose is to further gardening and our knowledge of it through helping train new professionals into the field.

Brian Wheeler is a Senior at Texas A&M with a major in horticulture with an emphasis on landscape design and a minor business.  Not only has Brian worked his way through school, but also is the first generation of his family to attend college. He has one more semester to complete his under graduate education.

Brain works  30 hours a week and carries an academic load of 16-18 hours per semester. He has worked at the same job in College Station at Discount  Tires and has worked his way through all positions available at the tire store. His manager says, "he's the best worker he has had in 11 years of managing Discount Tire."

Brian's career goals are to work for a landscape design company to learn the landscape design business and possibly in the future become self-employed. His goal is to "go the extra mile for my customers."

We hope to receive a picture from Brian since he was unable to attend.

Our high school scholarships are to provide students who have shown academic, leadership and other interests in addition to school. Its purpose is to help deserving young people from our neighborhood attend college.

Jessica Landry (left) and her mother.

Jessica Landry is an Elkins High School senior who has been accepted at Texas A&M University. She plans to major in business, which appears to be a good major when you read about her organizational as well as leadership skills.

Jessica's father is a Presbyterian Minister so she has attended a wide variety of schools including those in South Carolina, Austin, TX. and Mississippi before entering Elkins as a freshman. 

Despite having to make a whole new group of friends and learn a new area, her teachers write that she shows leadership, is able to work effectively with peers and adults, as well as can make friends and do well in school. Her employer tells us she goes beyond what is expected and is always dependable and cheerful.

Awards:  Academic excellence sophomore and junior years;  National Honor Society;  English honors society.

Leadership: She has been elected to the Student Council Freshman, Junior and was an officer her Senior year. She led the Presbyterian Youth Connection for 4 years and headed a project to pack 60,000 meals and worked to raise $15,000 for the project.  Her Youth Minister says  " (Jessica) leads peers by suggesting, recommending and encouragement."  

Able to be extremely active in church and school without affecting academic performance, it was a pleasure to meet Jessica and her mother.

Karly Brightwell (left) and Anne McBride

Karly Brightwell is also a Senior at Elkins and plans to attend Incarnate Word in San Antonio in the honors program and major in pre-veterinarian science. Besides being a scholar, she is also an athelete. Jessica has also volunteered at the Houston Humane Society; hence, her interest in becoming a veterinarian.

Her Environmental Science teacher described her as, "gifted in analysis and not squimish." Good traits for her major.

Carly has also been a lifegaurd for two years. Her manager describes her as "disciplined and tenacious tenacious toward goals." 

Awards: Academic excellence 2008-2011;  Excellence in biology;  Excellence In English III  AP; Senior Noble Knight; National Honor Society;  Spanish Honor Society ( treasurer); Mu Alpha Theta.

Athletics:  cross country: Captain of soccer team

Her community work includes coaching - soccer (MCUSA) and participating in QVST. She has worked with  LOST as well as the Houston Humane Society. She also sings and plays the piano.

 

Jessica Landry and Carly Brightwell

Congratulations to all recipients and thanks to Elkins Principal Barbara Whitaker and a counselor for attending!

To read about other scholarship winners, select "Scholarships" under Categories from the right column of this site.

 

 

2011 Scholarship Winners

by Cindy Calender

This is Cindy's presentation at the May Installation. Cindy, Suzy Walters and Anne McBride make up the Scholarship Committee. Their work makes us very proud. 

Again, it is an honor for me to serve as a member of the 2010-2011 Scholarship Committee.  And I would again like to thank everyone for the effort that has been put forth to raise money for this very worthwhile cause.  While serving on this committee yields feelings of gratification, it also yields feelings of anguish and frustration.  Anguish and frustration because there are so many deserving students in our community.  You want to be able to do for all the students – but unfortunately, it is not possible.  Consequently, 1 High School student  and 1 College student were selected based on student achievement, extra-curricular activities, teacher recommendations, employer recommendations  and their personal letter.

Pictured below left to right are Penny Johnson, Cindy Calender, Hayley Leonard, EHS Counselor Debbie Cogan, Suzy Walters, Hayley's Mother.

The recipient of the High School  scholarship for the 2010-2011 school year is  Hayley Leonard.

 As you will soon see, she has been a very busy young lady while attending Elkins High School.  She received the 2010 AP Scholars Award, is a member of the 2010-2011 Texas State Champion Constitutional Law Team, is an outstanding participant in the 2011 National Achievement Program, twice member of the Region 13 Philharmonic Orchestra, Student of the Month for January 2011, and a member of the National Honor Society, the National Science Honor Society, the National English Honor Society, and the EHS Orchestra.  She also participates in many activities outside the school doors – at her church, with the DIVAS dance team and volunteering at the Houston Zoo during the summers.  One of her teachers said “Hayley is both diligent and imaginative,  which is an unusual combination.  She creates innovative pathways to solve problems and then perseveres to their solution.  Most important is that Hayley is an excellent self starter.”  Her current plans are to attend either Yale University or Princeton University and major in Economics.  Then she plans on becoming a Dentist and pursue becoming a Cosmetic Dentist.  She said “I believe that a simple smile can make an impact on a person’s self esteem and confidence.”  As of January, Hailey was ranked 11^th in her class of 556 students. 

With all this, I now present Hayley Leonard.

***She later decided on Baylor

 Our college scholarship recipient is Lauren Garcia from Texas A & M.

Lauren has been active with the field of horticulture since before high school .  Her short-term goal is to graduate Summa Cum Laude in May, 2013 with two Bachelor degrees – one in Horticulture and one Landscape Architecture plus a minor in Business and Urban Planning.  She then plans on going to a premier university for Masters Studies, preferable the Longwood Graduate Program.  One of her goals is to gain an administrative career within a botanical garden or arboretum.  She wants to develop education programs that breach the gap between nature and the general public as well as design garden displays that allow escape from the stresses of urban life.  At some point she would like to pursue her Ph.D. in order to become a professor and inspire future generations to enjoy horticulture.  Currently she is the VP of TAMU Horticulture Club, an active member of the student branch of American Society of Landscape Architects, and has competed in the Southern Region and National American Society of Horticultural Sciences competitions.  She is a member of three honor societies and has received the Who’s Who among Collegiate Students award.  Lauren has also sought out and participated in two Study Abroad courses, one in Guatemala and one in Costa Rica.  One of her professors said “She knows what she wants to do professionally in the future and she has prepared herself for the type of work she loves.  This is a sign of maturity that we don’t see in all students at this point in their college career.”

Lauren wanted to be here to thank us, but she flew out Tuesday to South Carolina for her summer internship program.  She is hoping to attend one of Fall meetings.

Since Lauren was unable to attend, we do not have a photo of her.

2010 Scholarship Winners

Editor's note: Quail Valley Garden Club awarded $4000 in scholarships this year. Scholarship Committee headed by Suzy Walters with committee members Cindy Calender and Anne McBride made the scholarship process more in line with how both students and faculty work today and suggested changes to streamline the process as well as make the applications more accessible on the web.  All three students were able to attend as well as Elkins High School Counselor Elyce Nasseri. Pictured l to r are Chris von Kohn, Hailey Budnick and David Kronenberger.

The following is the presentation of the students given by Cindy Calender at our installation tea with some added information.

As a member of the 2009-2010 Scholarship Committee, I would like to thank everyone for the effort that has been put forth to raise money for this very worthwhile cause.  While serving on this committee yields feelings of gratification, it also yields feelings of anguish and frustration.  Anguish and frustration because there are so many deserving students in our community.  You want to be able to do for all the students – but unfortunately, it is not possible.  Consequently, 2 High School students  and 1 College student were selected based on student achievement, extra-curricular activities, teacher recommendations, employer recommendation  and personal letter.

The recipients of the High School  scholarships for the 2009-2010 school year are Hailey Budnick  and David Kronenberger. Pictures are from the May Elkins High School Awards, with President Nancy Lindsay presenting the students.

 Our first recipient, Hailey Budnick.  As you will soon see, she has been a very busy young lady while attending Elkins High School.  She is a member of the Varsity Swim Team, the Varsity Water Polo Team, the Science National Honor Society, the Excel Community Service Club, the National Honor Society, The National Art Honor Society, the National English Honor Society, the National Society for High School Scholars and the National Honor Roll – holding office in several of these organizations and doing many, many hours of community service. 

She is also a member of her church choir, plays the guitar and piano, paints and attends art shows.  One of her teachers said “ One of the things that I appreciate about Hailey is that she in not only driven to achieve for her own sake, but she influences those around her to us their brains and study carefully as well.”

Her current plans are to attend Wayland Baptist University and Major in Molecular biology with Minors in Chemistry and Christian Leadership.

As of January, Hailey was ranked 90^th in her class of 566 students. 

 

Our second high school student is David Kronenberger.  David has also been a very busy young man while attending Elkins High School.  He is a member of the Science National Honor Society, the English National Honor Society, the National Honor Society, the Spanish National Honor Society, the International Thespian Society, the Elkins chapter of Habitat for Humanity, the Youth Extending Service (YES) club and the Varsity Swim Team. 

 He is also a National Merit Finalist, an AP Scholar with Distinction, and has received the President’s Volunteer Service Award.  Along with all this, he is also an Eagle Scout - completing 81 merit badges along with those required for an Eagle Scout. 

 He has decided to attend the University of Houston Honors College and Major in Epidemiology.

As of January, David was ranked 11^th in his class of 556 students.

 

Our college scholarship recipient is Chris von Kohn from Texas A & M. He is pictured with some of the Day Lilies he has hybridized.

Chris became interested in horticulture and floriculture at a very young age – at 8, he bought his first orchid.  He then bought more plants and currently has over 200 plants, including a Vanda for which he received a Highly Commended Certificate from the American Orchid Society in November, 2007.  He is currently involved with hybridizing his own day lilies.  He said that after seeing the first of his seedlings bloom last summer and the success of his hybridizing, he knew that this was what he wanted as his career. 

 

This summer he will have the privilege of working with the Ball Horticulture as an intern in their plant breeding center.  He is currently co-owner of Rush Creek Gardens with his parents in Arlington. 

 At A & M, he is a member of the Horticulture Club and the American Society for Horticultural Sciences Southern Region Collegiate Branch of which he will be serving as President for this current year.  He is also a member of the American Hemerocallis Society, the American Orchid Society and the American Horticulture Society. 

  One of his horticulture professors said  “Chris has progressed toward being a professional horticulturist much more rapidly than most college students, and in many ways, he is a professional already.”  Chris will be returning to A & M in the fall as a senior.

A sample of Chris' hybrids are pictured here. He has developed more than 50. The pictures he showed us at the meeting captivated attendees.

 

 

We are very proud of the selections made by the Scholarship Committee and to help these outstanding students defray some of the enormous cost of a college education today.

To learn more about scholarship requirements, please press here.