March 2019 - 28

MANAGEMENT
Internship
SUCCESS STORIES
from the Collegiate Plant Initiative
Growing the industry requires supporting younger
generations. Internships are a great way for students
interested in horticulture to gain experience and nurture
that curiosity.
BY DANIELLE IVANOV
T
essa Hochhaus, a senior plant genetics
major, and Morgan Moore, a junior
horticultural science major, at University
of Florida, returned to campus last fall fresh from
Pleasant View Gardens in Loudon, New Hampshire.
They both landed paid summer internships
with Proven Winners, a corporate partner of
UF's Collegiate Plant Initiative.
" We worked in the research and development
program, " says Hochhaus, explaining that each
intern was responsible for a personal project and
final showcase with the company.
Hochhaus specialized her personal project with
a verbena comparison study, while Moore worked
closely with the Pleasant View stock house. Both
were responsible for watering, caring for and
taking cuttings of their plants, as well as lending
a hand physically whenever needed.
A NEW PATH
Hochhaus and Moore credit their internship
success to the aid of UF professor and coleus
specialist Dave Clark and the Collegiate
Plant Initiative.
Moore, who started at UF as an engineering
major, reached out to Clark for research
opportunities and was able to find lab work
analyzing post-harvest tomatoes.
After taking another semester of engineering
classes but far preferring her horticulture
electives, she says, " I finally made the switch
[from engineering to horticulture], and I'm
so glad I did. It's the best decision I've
ever made. "
28 MARCH 2019 GPNMAG.COM
From there, Moore said Clark encouraged her
to apply for an internship position with Proven
Winners. " As soon as I finished the interview,
they [Proven Winners] said 'Can you come?' "
Moore says, detailing how the company offered
her an internship right away.
Hochhaus, who grew up with a family garden
in Gainesville, Florida, similarly worked in Clark's
greenhouse lab at UF where she developed basil
homozygous lines prior to landing her internship.
To find internship applications, Hochhaus went
to the Collegiate Plant Initiative website (www.
collegiateplantinitiative.org) where a list of
potential positions is available for student access.
Both Hochhaus and Moore found their
experience to be challenging, but rewarding.
" I've never lived outside of Gainesville before,
so getting adjusted into a totally new city was
hard, " Hochhaus says, adding that the physical
labor of maintaining the garden grounds and
stock house was intense in the summer heat.
However, she and Moore enjoyed meeting the
other summer interns at Pleasant View Gardens
and delivering their final research presentations
to their boss, Adam Moseley, and the Pleasant
View Gardens' CEO.
" It was really great when we got to step out
of research and development, our little niche, "
Hochhaus says.
When asked what advice she'd give to younger
students, Moore says that becoming involved and
gaining experience has helped her significantly
with classwork at UF. " I went in at the end of my
sophomore year ... now going into the majority
of my classes toward my major, I know a lot of
things, and I can apply them, " she explains,
" those skills do carry on. "
Hochhaus also says she'd encourage other
students to apply for internships through the
Collegiate Plant Initiative resources, making sure
they'd be open to learning and getting the most
out of whatever experience comes their way.
" Most people just don't know that plant
science or horticulture is an option, " Hochhaus
says. She says her UF academic advisor
experiences a large influx of students changing
their major after the Collegiate Plant Initiative
does its semester plant drop on campus.
As for the future, Hochhaus is planning on
taking a gap year and pursuing an internship
abroad in Germany. Her family is from Germany,
so she's particularly interested in experiencing
the industry there.
Morgan says she's still " really interested in the
research " of fruit and vegetable crops, and would
like to intern with Disney or the USDA during her
last two years of undergraduate education at UF.
While Hochhaus and Moore were working with
Proven Winners, another pair of CPI affiliates
found success interning with Ball Horticultural Co.
LESSONS LEARNED
Sam Nuzzi, a biochemistry major who
graduated from UF in December 2017, and Abbie
Clark, a public relations major who graduated
from UF in August 2018, both interned with Ball
Horticultural Co. in West Chicago, Illinois, this
past summer.
Tessa Hochhaus (top left) and Morgan Moore (top right)
interned together at Pleasant View Gardens for Proven
Winners this past summer. Sam Nuzzi (bottom left) and
Abbie Clark (bottom right) landed successful internships
with Ball Horticultural this past summer semester thanks
in part to their CPI connections.
http://www.collegiateplantinitiative.org http://www.GPNMAG.COM
March 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2019
