To say that this year’s recipient of the DJFLCI Career Builder Scholarship is passionate about the landscape industry is an understatement. Meet Katrina Harris Portwood from Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, a real green industry go-getter.

Katrina graduates in spring from Rochester Community & Technical College (RCTC) with an associate degree in Applied Science in Horticulture Technology. While at RCTC, she’s been on the dean’s list every year while participating in the Horticulture Club, working in the school’s greenhouse, and volunteering at local garden club events.

Like our founder David J. Frank, she also is a landscaping entrepreneur.  During spring and fall, she owns and operates a residential landscape maintenance and design business!

She will use the college scholarship, awarded through the National Association of Landscape Professionals Foundation, to help pay for her pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in either Plant Science or Horticulture at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities or the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Here was Katrina’s response to the congratulatory email she received from CEO/President David R. Frank: “Your email was such an exciting one to receive. I forwarded it to my dad, and to my horticulture teacher at Rochester Community & Technical College, who were both just as excited as me. My professor had wonderful things to say about your company and mentioned that you hosted a career fair in the past that she took students to.”