认识金伯利G.
This enterprising 园艺 student combines her love of nature with design to establish a business creating stunning jewelry from 花 and plants she grows in her garden or forages in the wild.
部门: 园艺
家乡: I grew up in Blacksburg, VA, and now live in Richmond, VA.
What motivated you to get a degree / Why is getting a college education important?
I have worked in the restaurant industry my entire life, 从休闲到美食, and when the Covid-19 shutdown happened and restaurants closed, 我的生活彻底改变了. Over the past three years, I have moved on from the industry. Like many others, I started a garden during the pandemic. I was having a horrible time with it since I never really gardened before, so I decided to take a more hands-on class at Reynolds for guidance because all the information on the internet was overwhelming and honestly, I needed something positive to do at the time! Classes were mostly hybrid and outdoors. I fell in love with my teachers and the program, 找到了新的激情, and decided to get a degree as well as my floral design certification.
Do you have a favorite class and/or professor and why?
All my professors have been wonderful, 每节课都不一样, but my favorite is Floral Design with David Pippin. I took this class on a whim just for fun and discovered I have an eye for design and love using 花 as a medium. 颜色, 模式, 纹理, 形状, 雕塑元素, and past trends are so fun to learn about when creating arrangements. I started pressing the 花 we picked on campus for class and discovered resin crafting to preserve them. 当我有太多的鲜花时, I decided to combine my love of design, 花, 还有珠宝, 还有我的生意 RVA花瓣派对 成立!
What do you enjoy about the 园艺 classes here at 十大赌博靠谱网络平台社区学院?
I love that classes are very hands-on and outdoors. 我的老师们, 尤其是在古奇兰校区, have created a wonderful space that provides everything I need to learn about horticulture. The greenhouses and gardens are so fun to work in, 学习工具, 计划工厂时间表, 修剪, 植物ID, and pest management and I love the field trip opportunities. I’ve gotten to have classes and work at multiple city parks and visit local farms to learn realistically what it is like to work in horticulture.
How will your 园艺 degree help you achieve success in the business you’ve established?
我开辟了一个花园, so I have more access to 花 and foliage to press for my business RVA花瓣派对. I also want to start selling flower arrangements this summer and fall. I would love to have my own flower farm or work at one someday. I recently started working at a local plant nursery and use the plant knowledge I’ve learned at school to help customers plan their gardens, 诊断问题, and help them in general with their plant journey and I love it.
What's been your highlight of the year?
This semester I have gotten to work under Karin Stretchko’s supervision as an intern. I love using the skills I have learned over the past few semesters to work independently on projects around both Goochland and the Kitchen’s campuses, mostly seeding and transplanting for the greenhouse. I also learned to cut rafts for a hydroponic build. Karin also encouraged me to visit a former student’s flower farm, Baxter Family Farm which was inspiring. I also have enjoyed working in the garden with Betsy fixing our garden fence, 播种, and cutting down trees for mushroom logs for her class. David Seward helped guide me to get a vendor spot for the Spring Plant sale to sell my jewelry. I’m so excited to see all the hard work I, 其他学生, and volunteers have done for the sale this year.
What is the best piece of advice you've been given?
Follow a passion you have discovered in the horticulture program, and do not be afraid to ask for compensation for your knowledge and hard work. If you have passion for your work, you are hard to replace and deserve to be recognized. Also, be happy at your job or it is not worth your time. Keep the connections you make because this is a community, and everyone knows one another.
What are your future goals or next steps after Reynolds?
I want to do well at the local plant nursery I work in, using my current skills and learning more in the field. 最终, I would love to grow 花/work on a flower farm and do floral arrangement pop-ups, as well as continue pressing 花 for RVA花瓣派对.
Kimberly will graduate in Fall 2023.
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