Page 44 - MNLGA Free State Winter 2023_WEB

Congratulations to Our 2023 Scholarship Winners!

MNLGA 2023 Scholarship Recipients

In keeping with its mission to promote and provide for the future success of Maryland’s ornamental horticulture industry,
the Maryland Nursery, Landscape, and Greenhouse Association shall sponsor academic scholarships to students
pursuing an education in the field of landscape/ornamental horticulture. We congratulate our 2023 scholarship recipient:
Meg Smolinski. We would also like to congratulate 2023 Link Shanks award winner, Alyssa Hall.

Meg’s background began in the arts and grew into horticulture. She first received
a Bachelors of Art in Art History from the University of Notre Dame and worked in
museum administration for more than a decade. After much soul-searching, she
resigned from her government position at the Smithsonian Institution, to return
to school and study horticulture. She found immense belonging and satisfaction
as she pursued and achieved her two-year certificate from the Institute of
Applied Agriculture at the University of Maryland. She then became the Outreach
Coordinator of the University’s Arboretum, which was a dream come true for her.
She is continuing to pursue her passion for horticulture with a Masters in Extension
Education, so she can share her knowledge and expertise with the people of
Meg Smolinski Maryland. Her goal after graduation is to become more involved with the University
2023 MNLGA Scholarship of Maryland Extension, partnering with them in her role as the Outreach Coordinator
Award Recipient at the Arboretum. The educational component of public gardening is a huge factor
in why she returned to school in the first place, and her motivation for continuing.

The Link-Shanks Scholarship is given to an undergraduate student at the University of
Maryland who shows academic improvement and promise in horticulture. This year,
the award was given to Alyssa Hall, a senior in Agricultural Science and Technology,
with a Specialization in Environmental Horticulture. Alyssa is an exceptional student
who continues to find joy in all things horticulture. After working in horticulture and
entomology research labs on campus this summer, Alyssa found a passion in plant
protection. She is interested in pursuing a career in horticulture plant production
where she can explore practical IPM strategies. To help pay her way through college
and prepare her for a career in horticulture that requires an early start to the day,
Alyssa works the 5:00 a.m. shift at a local Starbucks. While most students are
Alyssa Hall snoozing and running to make it to morning classes, Alyssa has already completed a
2023 Links Shanks 4-hour shift, a feat her peers are in awe of and why she is well respected by her peers.
Award Recipient She is hard-working and very reliable, and this award will help Alyssa financially as
she pursues her degree in Environmental Horticulture.

44 WINTER 2023 • Free State News