Mountain State students studying horticulture, landscape architecture and nursery and greenhouse management have two weeks to apply for the West Virginia Nursery & Landscape Association’s (WVNLA) Marcus W. Rennix Memorial Scholarship program. The deadline for online applications is September 30, 2024.

Local landscape design professionals Michael and Patrick Biafore of Biafore Landscape Development said the WVNLA scholarship program has helped them personally as well as their employees over the last 40 years.

Michael Biafore said he and his brother Patrick received the scholarship in 1986 and 1991, respectively, while studying Landscape Architecture and Horticulture at West Virginia University. “At the time, this scholarship was available to the children of association members, and our father, Richard, was a member at the time. The scholarships greatly reduced the financial burden of our higher education degrees,” said Biafore.

Since that time, eligibility for the scholarship has been expanded to include any West Virginia resident pursuing a landscape or horticulture degree, whether at an in-state or out-of-state higher education institution.

Michael Biafore added, “Over the years several of our employees have benefited from receiving the Marcus Rennix scholarship. One student was our first intern in 1999, worked for us for many years and is now the assistant city planner of Fairmont. Another intern graduated and became the Director of WVU Greenhouses and is now the operator/director of MicroGenesis in Westover. We have a current employee who had been an intern for the last year and a half and came on board full-time after graduating from WVU in May 2024. All of our company’s WVNLA scholarship recipients still reside in West Virginia. The current scholarship not only provides substantial financial assistance but also brings with it mentoring from WVNLA board members, helping students keep abreast of potential careers in the green industry in West Virginia as well as the fulfillment one can get from being employed in the field.”

Julie Robinson, WVNLA executive director, said students must be in-state residents who have completed half the required courses in ornamental horticulture or landscape architecture and maintained at least a 2.5 grade point average.

Information about the scholarships can be found at WVNLA’s website: https://wvnla.org/scholarships/. Winners will be introduced at the association’s Winter Symposium, to be held in Charleston on February 11, 2025.