Thirteen Penn College Students Pass Pesticide Applicator Exam
Published 01.25.2008
Thirteen students in Pennsylvania College of Technology's School of Natural Resources Management passed the Pennsylvania Pesticide Applicator Certification exam offered at the college's Schneebeli Earth Science Center near the close of the Fall 2007 semester.
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture representative Jeff Bastian administered the three-hour test, which enables students to become commercial (public) or private applicators. The commercial designation applies to properties not owned or rented by the applicator, nonagricultural uses, and settings that include schools, playgrounds, parks, athletic fields, golf courses and day-care centers. A private license applies to agricultural production on land that is owned or rented by the applicator or his or her employer.
Five students passed the private exam: Melissa D. Berrier, Mifflin; Valerie E. Hoover, Selinsgrove; Josiah J. Leisher, Titusville; Alan J. Peterson, Rockton; and Justin A. Shelinski, Picture Rocks.
Eight others passed the commercial exam: Levi J. Bailey, Harrisburg; Scott A. Brown, Unityville; Taneli J. Coleman, Bethlehem; Nicholas J. Cook, Hallstead; Nicholas B. Cramer, Mifflintown; Alan R. Masters, Williamsport; Evan E. Mattos, Dillsburg; and Nathan L. Wolfe, Brookville.
All are enrolled in the college's landscape/nursery technology major, which since has been revised into ornamental horticulture with separate emphases in landscape technology, plant production and horticulture retail management.
"It can be a difficult exam to pass, but, after taking the Plant Insects and Diseases class, the students are well-prepared to pass it," said Carl J. Bower, a member of the school's horticulture faculty and the course instructor. "This gives students another credit to their name that many employers in the "˜green industry' are looking for and are willing to compensate them for it."
For more information about the School of Natural Resources Management, visit online or call (570) 320-8038.
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