News
A Glimpse Into Our Vic & Margaret Ball Internship
September 18, 2024
This year, nine eager undergraduates are participating in our Vic & Margaret Ball and Mosmiller Internship Programs. These students have been hard at work learning first-hand from industry professionals and applying their classroom knowledge at their internship sites across the nation!
A key part of our Vic & Margaret Ball Internship Program, which places students at commercial production greenhouses or nurseries, is allowing faculty advisors to travel to visit students at their internship site – covered by AFE. This gives advisors a chance to see their students in action and students an opportunity to check in with their advisor, show them around their site, and talk about what they’ve learned so far.
Dr. Kimberly Williams is a Professor in Greenhouse Management at Kansas State University. This summer, she visited Altman Plants, where her student, Lauren Swearingen, was completing her internship. While there, she also met another of our interns, Bri Wilson, who attends Texas State University!
Read on to hear about her experience and see some photos from the trip!
Faculty Visit by Kim Williams to Lauren Swearingen at Altman Plants in Peyton, CO
I conducted an advisor visit to Lauren Swearingen at Altman Plants’ Peyton, Colorado, location during the afternoon of May 28, 2024. I was joined by my husband, Raymond Cloyd, a Horticulture Extension Entomologist. The three-hour visit began with a meeting between Lauren and Head Grower Andrew Melton.
Andrew and Lauren walked us through the entire facility, starting in the busy shipping area and then through the production spaces. We saw perennial production, propagation spaces, and a wide range of finished spring crops, including incredible regal geraniums. I also learned by seeing the Cherry Creek Systems automation throughout the facility.
Lauren took us through the facility a second time as we met her co-workers and several of the section growers with whom she works, all of who had very positive things to say about her work as her internship was getting underway! In particular, we found fellow Vic and Margaret Ball intern Bri from Texas State University as she was conducting soil testing. We walked out to the Trial Gardens site where Marilyn and Isis were working and the interns would be assisting this summer. The facility was transitioning from spring crops to propagating mums, so it was great to see this range of production.
On the evening of May 28, we took Lauren and Bri out to dinner at The Airplane Restaurant and talked more about their experiences to date. They were both very pleased with how the internship was going and the support they received from Andrew and their supervisors and co-workers. Their apartment in Colorado Springs was working well, and they carpooled for the 30-minute commute to work each day.
I was really impressed with the operation and grateful to Andrew and Altman Plants for providing a breadth of experiences during the summer internship.
What a great host location!
The deadline to apply for our two hands-on internship programs is approaching quickly! Students can apply for our Vic & Margaret Ball and Mosmiller Intern Programs by Sunday, October 1st.
Our Vic & Margaret Ball Internship Program gives students the opportunity to gain practical floriculture/horticulture experience while training at a commercial production greenhouse or nursery, while our Mosmiller Internship Program allows students to train at leading retail, wholesale, or allied trade operations.
Learn more and apply by Oct. 1 here.
