2026 LNLFSR Scholarship Winners

The LNLFSR Scholarship Committee received 14 applications from highly qualified students for this round of scholarship reviews. We selected the following winners for seven scholarships based on their academic achievements, dedication to serving the industry, and engagement with local communities. We believe that these students will make a positive impact and contribute to the Louisiana horticultural industries and communities in the near future.

Sam Perino Memorial scholarship – Julia Kirschner

Julia is a native of Baton Rouge and a senior student in the Plant and Soil Systems at the Louisiana State University. She has gained extensive experience in horticulture through working at Clegg’s Nursery for nearly three years, as a student worker at the LSU Hill Farm horticulture teaching facility for two years, and as a summer intern at the Burden Botanical Gardens. She has also assisted a research project in the Water Quality Lab on the potential of using insect frass as an organic fertilizer. Julia has a broad interest in agricultural science with a focus on soil conservation and is recently certified in GIS. For future career, she hopes to become a scientist and impact on the nursery and landscape industry to be more sustainable and regenerative.

Ira Nelson scholarship – Autumn Hilderbrand

Autumn grew up in Mississippi and received her bachelor’s degree in ag engineering from the Mississippi State University. She is currently a master’s student at LSU with her research focusing on fertility management of tea field and automation of tea harvest. She is passionate about tea and many other specialty crops and wanted to develop new technologies to help growers. She would like to continue her graduate training as a PhD student in near future and is very interested in researching sugarcane bagasse and finding new opportunities to recycle this ‘waste’ material into beneficial products.

Foret/Meadows/Owings scholarship – Zoe Woody

Zoe Woody grew up in Memphis, TN and has been attending LSU since 2019 majoring in Plant and Soil Systems. She’s currently working as a master’s student under Dr. Raj Singh in the Plant Diagnostic Center and contributing to daily operations in diagnosing plant health problems. Her research focuses on the host-pathogen association between fungi (Colletotrichum spp.) and perennial ornamentals, which is important for managing diseases such as the boxwood dieback. Looking ahead, Zoe wants to build a career as an extension agent or an educator and use her training and skills to serve the horticulture industry.

Margie Jenkins Scholarship – Yaohui Liu

Yaohui received his bachelor’s degree from Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University in China and came to LSU with a passion in turfgrass research and industry outreach. He had conducted LNLA-funded project which focused on developing recommendations for centipede grass sod establishment in the state that can benefit landscapers, turfgrass managers, and homeowners. His master's thesis is to develop an AI-based remote sensing technology to optimize nitrogen fertilizer management on golf course fairways. Yaohui presented his research at the Hammond Research Station field days, the Louisiana Turf Association Conference and the ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting and authored multiple articles in trade magazines. Yaohui wants to become a researcher that can serve the turfgrass industry in the state and beyond.

 Pete Newton Memorial Scholarship – Sophia Webber

Sophia grew up in rural Vidalia, Louisiana and had an early exposure to plants, land, and their connections with people. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University and has gained broad skills and a deep appreciation for Louisiana native plants. She initiated the ‘Adopt a Spot’ program and fostered the planting of seven spots around her hometown’s main attractions. Sophia worked at the Hilltop Arboretum as the Native Plant Site Intern, at Our Lady of the Lake as a florist, and served as the Vice President of the LSU Student Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. She wants to build a career as a landscape architect, and her favorite task is planting design.  

Louisiana Irrigation Association Scholarship – Hayden Holloway

Hayden is a Baton Rouge native and graduated from Catholic High School. With an early exposure to gardening, Hayden started his own garden when very young and worked for a landscape company during his high school and college summers. Majoring in Plant and Soil Systems, Hayden is currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree with a passion in landscape management and a hard-working ethic. He holds a LSU Merit Scholarship and is active in LSU Birding Club, LSU Bridge Group, Baton Rouge Garden Club, and the Audubon Society.

LNLFSR Scholarship – Russ Romero

Russ is a Louisiana native and graduated from Zachary High School in 2022. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Turfgrass Management at Louisiana State University, and has interned for LSU Athletics Sports Turf, worked for the SEC Soccer Tournament in Pensacola, Floria, and the Vaquero Club golf course in Dallas TX. With this hands-on experience, in addition to classroom learning, Russ was able to gain knowledge and experiences that are critical for his future career goal - to become a leader in turf management using innovative techniques to solve real-world challenges and support the growth of the green industry in Louisiana and beyond.

LNLFSR Scholarship Winners – 2023

Congratulations to these students, and we expect to see these scholarships help them with their
education and leadership development that will eventually lead them down a career path that
will benefit the Green Industry. Thank you!

Margie Jenkins Scholarship - Dan Metzger
Dan is a native of Slidell, LA and is in his 4 th year of study for his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree at LSU. Working with real clients at the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architect, he contributed significantly to several local projects that improves the life and the environment of the local communities. He was selected as the 3 rd -Year Leadership Award for his school and also led his team to win a First Place Award in his School’s design charrette competition. He is currently working for a company in Austin TX for his spring/summer internship.
Ira Nelson Scholarship - Hamilton Trey Crockett
Hamilton was from Louisville, KY. She completed her B.S. degree from Virginia Tech in 2020 before coming to LSU to purse her M.S. degree. She is working with Dr. Raj Singh on early and accurate diagnosis and identification of plant diseases caused by Phytophthora through investigating a collection of over 500 isolates at the LSU AgCenter Plant Diagnostic Center.  Information she generated from this research will play a vital role in mitigating Phytophthora diseases challenges faced by LA nursery industry. Besides research, she served as the chair for the Plant Pathology Graduate Student Association Social Committee and held several events for the department.
Foret/Meadows/Owings Scholarship - Connor Luke Cavalier
Connor is a Baton Rouge native. He graduated from St. Michael The Archangel High School in 2018, and studied at University of Louisiana Lafayette before coming to LSU to pursue his B.S. degree in Plant and Soil Systems (Landscape Management). Connor has worked for Louisiana Nursery and currently works at the Burden Botanical Gardens assisting with the planting and maintenance of the Jackson and Perkins proprietary rose collection and the development of best practices for their propagation.
Sam Perino Memorial Scholarship - Baileigh Snow
Baileigh is from TN and is currently a Junior majoring in Agricultural Business with a concentration in Plant Science at Louisiana Tech University. In addition to performing at a high level in classes, Baileigh is a member of the LaTech Woman’s Bowling Team, has served as the president for Greenscape Club and as a member of the Block and Bridle Club, and has completed an internship at the Hammond Research Station in summer 2022.
LNLFSR Scholarship - Eric Vanbergen
Eric was born in Birmingham, AL but lived in Lafayette LA. He is passionate about native plants and led the establishment of a 3-acre Louisiana Coastal Prairie habitat restoration project when attending high school at Ascension Episcopal School. He also completed a pollinator habitat garden in his senior year featuring native grasses and wildflowers before coming to LSU. He switched from plant science to Landscape Architecture for the bigger impact of his passion and is in his 4 th year in the Landscape Architecture program. He has been part of several on-campus projects promoting native plants. He was the recipient of Louisiana Wildlife Federation Youth Conservationist of the Year, and is currently serving as President of the Cajun Prairie Habitat Conservation Society.
LNLFSR Scholarship - Lidya Chala
Lidya was born in Ethiopia and completed her Bachelor and Master’s degrees at the Hawassa University in Ethiopia. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Urban Forestry at Southern University focusing on forest entomology. Her advisor is Dr. Veronica Manrique, and her research is part of a long-term study to evaluate the impact of the invasive tallow tree on arthropods communities in managed forests in Louisiana. Other than research, Lidya has also contributed to undergraduate and youth educational activities at the university.

LNLFSR Scholarship Winners – 2021

Kristopher Criscione - Margie Jenkins Scholarship Winner
Kristopher is from New Jersey and graduated from the State University of New York of Cobleskill. He is pursuing a M.S. degree in plant and soil systems (horticulture) at LSU. His major professor is Jeb Fields where they are working in the area of soil substrates at the Hammond Research Station. In addition to being this year’s recipient of the debuting Margie Jenkins Scholarship, Kris was the 2020 Dr. James and Faye Foret Scholarship Award from the Southern Nursery Association. He is also a Louisiana Society for Horticultural Research Scholarship winner. 

Kaylee Deynzer - Ira Nelson Scholarship Winner
Kaylee is a graduate of Dutchtown High School in Ascension Parish and completed her B.S. degree at LSU in 2019. She is working on a M.S. degree in plant and soil systems (horticulture) at LSU with Dr. Kathryn Fontenot. Kaylee was the recipient of many undergraduate scholarships at LSU. She is involved with hemp production research (plant spacing, varieties and optimum germination temperatures).

Isabella Frank
Isabella is a Baton Rouge native. She graduated form McKinley High Scholl in 2016 and then graduated from Baton Rouge Community College before coming to LSU to pursue her B.S. degree in plant and soil systems (horticultural science). She has a 3.27 GPA.  Isabella works as a student worker at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens and is an active member of the LSU Horticulture Club.

Lakshmi Dasari
Lakshmi was born in India and completed here M.S. degree in urban forestry at Southern University in 2018. She is current a Ph.D. candidate in Urban Forestry at Southern. Her advisor is Dr. Yadong Qi and their work includes urban tree canopy modeling for reduction of temperature and humidity. Lakshmi has a 3.4 GPA. She is a member of Beta Kappa Chi and is a National Scientific Honor Society member. 

Samuel des Bordes
Samuel is a M.S. graduate student in the School of Plant, Soil and Environmental Sciences at LSU. He graduated from Dutchtown High School in Ascension Parish in 2016 and completed his B.S. degree in horticultural science at LSU in 2020. He is now working at LSU with Dr. Heather Kirk-Ballard. Samuel is a member of the Phi Sigma Theta National Honor Society.