(left to right) Christopher Tuccio, NVCC, Amy Chesmer, UConn, David Rascati, CT Hort President Brett Isaacson, Chloe Girouard-Martel and Sydney Bolduc
Chloe Girouard-Martel
Connecticut Horticulture Society Scholarship
Chloe is a second year Horticulture student at NVCC. A former tattoo artist, she found horticulture a beautiful respite from the everyday stresses of the world. She is a dedicated student assistant and maintains a 4.0 GPA. Her career goals are research/academic, with the hopes of transferring to UConn for a Bachelor’s of Horticulture and perhaps one day obtaining a PhD. in Botany or Paleobotany.
David Rascati
Scholarship in memory of David J.A. Smith
David is a senior majoring in Sustainable Plant and Soil Science (Horticulture) at UConn. He is a stellar student with a cumulative grade point average of 3.8. Prior to attending UConn, David attended Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) where he was recognized with The Presidential Arts Award, the NVCC Business Division Stepping Stone Scholarship, and won the 2017 Sculpture Competition. David has written and illustrated a book entitled “Selected Specimens of the Tamarach Arboretum” which includes watercolor depictions and botanical information about woody plants in the Tamarach Arboretum.
Evan Lentz
Scholarship in memory of Ludwig Hoffman
Evan is a senior majoring in Sustainable Plant and Soil Science (Horticulture) at UConn. He is a stellar student with a cumulative grade point average of 3.9. He hopes to give his attention to the role that plants naturally play in the ecosystem with regards to their capabilities as biochemical factories and the implications of such concerning human health and medicine. Evan has taken on a minor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and intends to continue with this in his graduate studies, hopefully at UConn.
Julia Evangelista
Scholarship in memory of Edwin (Pat) Carpenter
Julia is a junior majoring in Sustainable Plant and Soil Science (Horticulture) at the University of Connecticut (UConn). She is a stellar student with a cumulative grade point average of 3.9. Julia volunteers at the Spring Valley Student Farm that provides food for the dining halls at UConn. She is a member of EcoHusky and EcoHouse promoting waste reduction and recycling techniques at Green Game Day, and Gay City State Park. Julia wants to use her degree and experience to make the world a greener, brighter place and advance in a horticultural sense.
Sydney Bolduc
Connecticut Horticulture Society Richard Jaynes Scholarship
Sydney is a second year Horticulture student. She maintains a 3.96 GPA and has been a dedicated student assistant to the grounds department on campus. She has volunteered many hours of her time to the beautification of the Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) campus and program. Sydney also enjoys going to a variety of the horticulture trades shows such as the CT Flower Show and CT NOFA Winter Conference. She hopes to become a professional greenhouse grower or landscape designer—or both!