Ten University of Mount Olive Students Attend Nursery and Landscape Tradeshow
MOUNT OLIVE –Ten University of Mount Olive agriculture students attended the North Carolina Nursery and Landscape Association’s (NCNLA) annual Green and Growin’ Tradeshow. This show provides a marketplace for plant material, equipment, supplies and services used in the production and sale of plants and installation of landscapes. Educational workshops were also available for those in attendance to gain further information about landscape and nursery practices, pesticides and new horticultural methods. Students were able to attend these workshops and received continuing education credits for horticultural certifications they have earned through coursework and exams.
The keynote speaker for this year’s Green & Growin’ Show was Bryce Lane. Lane is the host of UNC-TV’s “In the Garden with Bryce Lane” and professor of horticulture. Lane gave students and nursery and landscape professionals in attendance a glimpse of horticulture from all over the United States.
“This is opportunity is a win-win for NCNLA and our students,” stated Dr. Sandy Maddox, advisor for this effort. “The Association supports our students attending the conference and they are always impressed by the quality of students that we send to the event.”
Students spent quite a bit of time assisting NCLNA personnel with registration, booth setup as well as special events and breakdown of the entire tradeshow. This afforded students the opportunity to meet with vendors and businesses from across North Carolina and the southeastern United States. Several students were successful in securing summer employment and internships with companies at the show.
Josh Wisniewski, a sophomore in agribusiness stated, “This was a great opportunity for me to not only get to know industry professionals, but I actually have been hired by a local nurseryman for the summer and this will give me the opportunity to learn more about the industry in which I hope to begin my own business upon graduation.”
University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. The College, sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists, has locations in Mount Olive, New Bern, Wilmington, Goldsboro, Research Triangle Park, Washington and Jacksonville. For more information, visit www.moc.edu.