Page 78 - Free State Spring 2023_WEB

GROWING FORWARD (Continued)

utilizing those resources as
much as we should.

Additionally, if you have had
a similar experience to mine,
people might have laughed
at you for wanting to have a
career in this green industry.
They usually say, “Anyone
can do that,” or “It doesn’t
require skill,” or “There’s no
money in that, you should do
something with computers,”
etc. If you have experienced
something like this, I would tell
you not to listen to the outside
noise and go down the path
you want to. It’s your life, not
theirs, and you’re in control
of your own destiny. I am
proof, along with millions of
others across the country, that
having a career in the green
McHale Landscape Design Inc. has maintained this property in the
industry can be lucrative if you have a passion for it. Prove Annapolis Region for over a decade and also has performed landscape
people wrong. I did it, and so can you. Cheers! installations on site.

Photo Credit to: Julie Patronik

Profile: Steve Blaes I was an MNLGA member and a student; an email
newsletter was the source of inspiration. Add the
Studied at: The
Community College burden of paying for college as a working adult with a
of Baltimore County family, and it certainly provides motivation to apply. I
(CCBC) - AAS Sustainable did ask past president George Mayo out for coffee (I just
Horticulture (summa cum reached out via email to connect blindly) before starting
laude) (Since completing my studies at CCBC, and he turned me onto the MNLGA.
that degree, I continued How did the scholarship help with your studies?
studies in Environmental
Sustainability and Human I am grateful for the opportunity to take more than
Ecology at the University one course per semester; it allowed me to earn
of Baltimore.)
Pictured: Steve Blaes my degree more expeditiously and earn a return on
Awarded: MNLGA Photo: Steve Blaes investment working in the horticulture industry.
Ornamental Horticulture Scholarship 2017 What kind of work are you currently doing in the

How did you hear about the scholarship, or what green industry?
prompted you to apply?
I am currently a design and sales associate at
Maxalea, Inc., a full-service design, build, and

78 SPRING 2023 • Free State News