Two horticulture alumnae awarded memorial scholarships

Published 06.15.2022

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Recent graduates of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s landscape/plant production technology program were chosen for both of this year’s Fred Winter Memorial Awards for Excellence in Horticulture from the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture.

Rebecca Cornish, of Lewisburg, and Faith E. Mitchell, of Sunbury, will each receive $1,500 in conjunction with the awards, established as a long-term way to honor one of PSPA’s longtime members. The applications from Cornish and Mitchell “rose to the top of the pile” as the selection committee’s four judges sorted through a slate of excellent candidates, a society official told the winners.



Rebecca CornishFaith E. MitchellBoth recipients graduated in mid-May – Cornish with an associate degree in landscape/horticulture technology: plant production emphasis and a bachelor’s degree in business administration: management concentration, and Mitchell with an associate degree in landscape/horticulture technology: landscape emphasis.

Cornish plans to attend graduate school in the fall to earn a master’s degree in agronomy, with an eye toward owning and operating an organic, sustainable and regenerative produce and flower farm, with an onsite restaurant and event space. While she searches for land, she sells handmade ornaments and jewelry in her Etsy shop to help fund that goal.

Mitchell is working at Lloyd’s Landscapes Inc., her family’s Sunbury business, and is continuing her Penn College education, pursuing a degree in applied management (following one of the college’s innovative “two-plus-two” pathways to a bachelor’s).

Winter, an internationally known radiologist and coronary arteriography expert who died in June 2012, was also a Master Gardener who developed several new lines of rhododendrons. The society annually awards two scholarships in his name to recognize outstanding full-time students who have expressed clear intent upon graduation to pursue a career in one of the many branches of horticulture, including enhancement of the environment.

Cornish and Mitchell will be invited to a fall session of the PSPA to be formally introduced to members and to meet Barbara Winter, who sponsors the award in her late husband’s honor.

For more information about Penn College’s landscape/plant production technology program, call the School of Engineering Technologies at 570-327-4516.

For more about the college, a national leader in applied technology education, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.