I was born in a small town called Brownwood, Texas, which is located about 1 hour away from San Angelo! My parents moved my family to College Station when I was three and this has been my home ever since! I am the youngest of three girls, and I will be the last of us to graduate from Texas A&M University in the Fall of 2015! WHOOP! Both of my parents work for Texas A&M so in case you hadn't guessed, we bleed maroon!
I promise we don't wear Aggie shirts in EVERY Christmas picture...just the last 2 years..:]
I am an extremely creative and visual person and I owe all the credit to my mom. My mom is one of the most creative women I have ever known! She not only gave me her creativity, but she also gave me her love of plants! Thanks Mom! I was also lucky enough to have a sister who minored in Horticulture and passed her obsession for plant identification to me at a young age! Thanks Bri! As I said before, I am a Horticulture major, with an emphasis in Floriculture. I hope to one day own my own floral studio or become an event planner with a emphasis in weddings.
This past semester was my first semester as a Texas A&M University student, and one of my many Horticulture classes was HORT 101. This class is taught by Dr. Creighton Miller, a wonderful and kind hearted professor who loves Horticulture! Throughout the semester guest speakers came to introduce us to the different aspects of Horticulture and help us narrow our career choice! When it came time for the Floriculture speakers, Dr. Miller shared some information about our speaker Mrs. Lisa Whittlesey! I had met Mrs. Whittlesey once when I won Grand Champion at the Brazos County Youth Livestock Show in Ornamental Horticulture, but I also attended school with her daughter so I knew a little about her background. However, he told us she created the Junior Master Gardener program and that was something I certainly did not know! Learning this made me so excited for her to speak and the reason being; I am a Junior Master Gardener!
Surprise!
When I was in 4th grade at Rock Prairie Elementary we had an activity called "Fun Friday". During this time we got to spend the day in someone else's class doing an activity of our choice, and I chose the Junior Master Gardener class! We learned all about plants and did experiments with seeds and light; we even had sing-a-longs about plants with Mr. Cain, our JMG instructor! I did all kinds of projects and eventually worked through the whole JMG manual! I was the only person in my class to finish, with a whole lot of help from my mom! Thanks again Mom! At the end of our "Fun Friday" class, we were awarded a certificate to show that we had completed the requirements and were officially Junior Master Gardeners! The cool thing about this program is that part of completing tasks in the manual meant you got a lapel pin with 3 leaves. For every part of the manual you completed, you got to add a different shield behind the leaves! I got all of the shields for my pin along with my certificate of completion, and even after 12 years they are both still in good condition! The Junior Master Gardener class took my love for plants further then I could have ever imagined. It impacted my life so much that I used it as the introduction paragraph in my admissions essay to Texas A&M University!
"If
you were to open my jewelry box at home you would find a three-piece gold
lapel pin, the first piece shaped into 3 leaves painted in green, the second
piece a yellow shield, and the third a blue crest with a hunter green
garland. I earned that pin in the fourth
grade after completion of the Junior Master Gardener program created by Texas A&M University, and that is when my love for plants really seeded itself (unintentional plant pun, I swear ;). That is why I am applying for
admission into the Horticulture Program at A&M - to continue my love of
plants from the very source."
When I found out that Mrs. Whittlesey created the program, I made it a point to reintroduce myself and thank her! She was so excited when I told her how much this program impacted the dreams I've made, then she asked me if I would be interested in helping with some new programs. I was, and still am blown away to have the opportunity to give back to a program that did so much for me when I was little.
Just to cement my statement about how amazing this story truly is, I saved the best part for last. When I got my certificate back in 2002, I was interviewed by a man who worked for JMG. He interviewed me because I completed my manual and my interview was played on the evening news. The man who interviewed me is named Randy Seagraves; not only does he still work for JMG, he is the direct supervisor of my internship! If ever there was a story that truly went full circle, this is this one. It still puts chills down my spine when I think about how all of this has played out! This is true sign that I am headed in the right direction so I guess it's true what they say "The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies" - Gertrude Jekyll
Now I know that was a whole lot longer then a "little" story, but it was too amazing not to share! If you are reading this then I'd like to take a moment to say Thank You! I am so grateful that you are interested in me and that you are allowing me to share this experience with you!
Have a grape day!
Thank & Dig'Em,
Hallie
