News
Highlighting the Success of Former Interns & Scholars
July 22, 2025
For decades, the American Floral Endowment (AFE) has supported the floriculture industry through research and education that have been instrumental in improving the sector’s future outlook. But just as important are the financial and hands-on opportunities our programs provide for the industry’s future workforce.
“Our internships and scholarships are a way in which up-and-coming industry professionals can further their education and experience. But for the industry as a whole, they also provide solid ground in developing a talent pipeline that will ensure the industry remains strong and thriving for decades to come,” said Debi Chedester, CAE, AFE’s Executive Director.
As National Intern Day is celebrated around the country on July 31, we are celebrating the tremendous impact internships provided through AFE have on the future of the industry. Many former interns and scholarship recipients have taken what they have learned from the experiences and turned them into successful careers in all sectors of the industry, from retail shop owners to researchers to some of the biggest advocates of the industry.
To highlight these achievements, we will be showcasing the success of former interns and scholarships in the coming months through articles in our newsletter and on the website.
Jennifer Cummins Linehan’s Flourishing Career Grows from Opportunity
Along Main Street in Sylvania, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo, sits a floral shop rich in a history of passion, planning and an opportunity that made it all possible.
The makings of Beautiful Blooms by Jen started in high school, where Jennifer Cummins Linehan took a floral design class.
“That was it,” she said. “I just knew I wanted to open my own flower shop.”
With big dreams for a bright future in the floriculture industry, Jennifer set off to accomplish her goals. Though her dream never faded to own her own shop, she decided on a degree in agricultural education. Teaching appealed to the young college student as a more stable career until she could realize her ultimate goals.
After earning her degree from Ohio State University, Jennifer’s path would once again widen with opportunity from a summer internship in San Diego through AFE’s Mosmiller Internship Program. It was 2006, just days after graduation, and she was headed across the country to work with a high-end event florist near the ocean.
“It opened up a whole new world of flowers. The events I saw there – I was setting up events on the beach, working with tropicals I never even touched before,” she said. “To have that opportunity, where you are not spending your own money, it gave me the chance to experience something bigger than what I knew.”
The experience proved to be an eye-opening time, one that would give pause about whether or not she wanted to leave the West Coast.
“I thought I might just stay in San Diego,” she said. “But when a former teacher called and offered me a teaching position back home, the planner in me knew it was the right step.”
Jennifer returned to Ohio to teach horticulture and floral design to high school students. In her third year of teaching, Jennifer made a move to Toledo Public Schools, and a move closer to her future. While teaching full-time, she started her floral business out of a back room in her house. Her first year, she booked 12 weddings, and in the second, she had 28. By the end of her third year in business, Jennifer was providing florals for 56 weddings.
Jennifer expanded her business to a small location near her home that could accommodate some delivery and arranging. Longing for space to provide gifts and other items along with her florals, she moved to her current Main Street location in 2019.
Today, her team handles over 100 weddings annually in addition to walk-ins, classes and community outreach. She draws on her background in teaching to continue providing floriculture education to Girl Scout troops and aspiring florists. She is also involved in the community, having decorated for the Rose Bowl Parade while mentoring new designers and remaining active in floral conventions. She is a certified floral designer (CFD) and accredited member of the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD).
Jennifer attributes much of her success to the early support of AFE’s internship experience she received out of college. It was an opportunity, she said, that made all the difference.
“That experience in San Diego not only helped me define the kind of floral shop I wanted to own, but, even today, it reminds me how important it is to invest in future florists,” she said.
By Carla Dempsey
Photo Credits: Jennifer Cummins Linehan
