Alumni horticulturalists host students at renowned gardens

On Oct. 8, 19 Pennsylvania College of Technology landscape/plant production technology students took a trip to Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, where they met with several graduates and toured the facility. Accompanied by Carl J. Bower Jr. and Justin Shelinski, both faculty in the college’s horticulture department, students learned about the professional journeys of the alumni, as well as the greenhouses for which they are responsible.

Bower said the goal of the visit was to not only see fantastic gardens, plants and design ideas, but to also explore the opportunities for students in public horticulture.

Seeing graduates of the program who are in integral roles of display and production at a major botanical garden is a big takeaway for students, he added.

Lauren S. (Hoderny) Hill, a 2005 graduate of the floral design/interior plantscape major, works in the student programs office and greeted the group with 2025 landscape/plant production technology graduate Lila A. McKeon, who works in outdoor display. They later met with Dean A. Dietrich, a 2009 ornamental horticulture: plant production emphasis graduate, who offered a tour through Longwood Gardens’ newest edition, the West Conservatory, where he is a senior horticulturist. Kassie L. (Garris) Williams, a 2018 landscape/horticulture technology: plant production emphasis graduate, then took the group through the plant production greenhouses, where she is a senior grower.

Following the tours, students explored the fountains, flowers and gardens.

“Seeing the graduates doing what they love” was a highlight of the visit, Bower said. “Longwood honestly is a magical place in my mind. It is excellence in horticulture, and being able to be immersed in that, even for a day, gets you excited about how you might grow, display or maintain plants. I know they all had a great time.”