News
A Launchpad for an Exciting Career in Floriculture: AFE’s Vic & Margaret Ball Internship Program
October 12, 2023
Learning from experienced professionals, completing hands-on training, and making connections that could lead to your dream job—that’s just some of what the American Floral Endowment’s Vic and Margaret Ball Internship Program provides for students!
Through the Vic and Margaret Ball Internship Program, interns are placed at top production greenhouses across the United States, where they work alongside experienced professionals to learn about all aspects of the industry, from growing and harvesting flowers, to shipping, and conducting research and testing.
One of the highlights of the Program is the opportunity for students’ advisors to visit them on-site. During the visit, advisors have the chance to check in with the interns, tour the site, and meet the student’s coworkers and supervisors. After each visit (costs of which are fully reimbursed by AFE), the advisors submit a report, complete with a summary of the visit and photos of the trip.
Learn about visits that took place this year, and see how each of these interns are growing in their knowledge of the floral industry!
Dr. Kimberly Williams (Kansas State University) visits Megan Nelson at Tagawa Greenhouse
Arvada, Colorado – March 2023
“…The fact that Megan was being assigned as Assistant Grower at the Picadilly facility as a stop-gap measure shows the confidence that they have in her skillset and work ethic. She is doing a fantastic job!”
About Megan:
Megan is a student at Kansas State University majoring in Horticulture Production and has a powerful passion for plants. When she first enrolled at K-State, she found her love for horticulture and commercial greenhouse production.
See Megan in action at her internship!
Dr. Joshua Craver (Colorado State University) visits Kyle Beckman at Skagit Horticulture
Mount Vernon, Washington – June 2023
“I was encouraged to hear from Brie that Kyle was exceeding expectations and that they were hopeful to have more students in the future. I would like to sincerely thank AFE for supporting faculty trips like this to visit our students, what a great experience!”
About Kyle:
Kyle is attending Colorado State University and will graduate in December with a Horticulture degree with a concentration in controlled environment production. “Plants are a very important aspect of my life, and I value them very highly,” Kyle says. He sees this internship as the first major step to his long-term career goal in the horticulture industry.
Click below to watch videos from Kyle at his internship!
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Dr. Kellie Walters (University of Tennessee) visits Maggie Whittington at Neal Mast Greenhouses
Grand Rapids, Michigan – July 2023
“They elaborated on how Maggie was an excellent intern and that they offered her a full-time job upon graduation. It was awesome hearing this!”
About Maggie:
Maggie is a student at the University of Tennessee, majoring in Plant Science with a concentration in Horticulture Science and Production. Maggie has always felt a deep connection to nature and the earth, but for some reason, it didn’t occur to her that she could find a career in this field. Being a horticulture production major showed her that she could find a job focusing on her passion: plants and, more specifically, flowers.
Watch Maggie’s internship experience first-hand!
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Dr. Kimberly Williams (Kansas State University) visits Cora Manica at Dripping Springs Gardens
Huntsville, Arkansas – August 2023
“The remoteness of the location is of note: Cora spent the summer with very limited WiFi, no phone service, and not a lot of creature comforts. Yet, she thrived and learned a tremendous amount about local, small-scale cut flower production that she is excited to build upon in her future career!”
About Cora:
Cora is majoring in Horticulture at Kansas State University and felt an internship within the cut flower industry would help her understand the seed-to-harvest process with pest management, height management, and everything in between. She hopes to one day have her own cut flower farm!
Check out Cora’s internship videos!
To see more of our interns in-action, make sure to follow us on our social media to see videos from all of our interns! Click the links below to check out our accounts and follow.
Instagram: American_Floral_Endowment
Facebook: AmericanFloralEndowment
TikTok: AmericanFloralEndowment
YouTube: EndowmentOrg
Twitter: FloralEndowment
LinkedIn: American-Floral-Endowment
If you are a student interested in a career in floriculture, we encourage you to apply for one of our hands-on internship programs. Internships are a great opportunity to learn about the industry, gain hands-on experience, and make connections that could one day lead to your dream job!
In addition to our Vic & Margaret Ball internship program, we also offer the Mosmiller internship program which places students at leading retail, wholesale, or allied trade operations. Applications for both programs are due on March 1st and October 1st each year.
Learn more and start preparing for the March deadline here!
