Posted By: Desiree Davis, EHS student
My name is Desiree Davis and I was awarded the 2012 scholarship through the Arnold D. Haskell Foundation. This scholarship is made possible by the M. H. Sherman Company to benefit the overall advancement of environmental horticulture education in California. The Arnold D. Haskell Fund provides support to two outstanding students majoring in horticultural science at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA. As part of their overall educational experience, the students intern at the Sherman Library & Gardens in Corona del Mar, CA during the summer quarter following their scholarship award.
The Sherman Library & Gardens were established by Arnold D. Haskell starting in the mid-1950s. The gardens are open to the public.. Haskell named the Library & Gardens in honor of his mentor and benefactor, M. H. Sherman (1853-1932).
The following determine eligibility for the scholarship award:
1. Students must be actively pursuing a B.S. in major in Agricultural and Environmental Plant Sciences in the College of Agriculture.
2. Students must have scholastic achievement of a minimum cumulative 3.00 GPA
3. Students must demonstrate horticultural competency including successful completion of Principles of Horticulture, at least one Plant Materials class, Landscape Maintenance, Plant Propagation, or comparable courses.
4. Students must show evidence of participation and/or leadership in department activities such as student clubs, events, judging teams, etc.
5. Students must demonstrate strong personal character, work ethic, and initiative.
The Horticulture and Crop Science Department committee selects finalists from among qualified applicants. This committee forwards the finalists’ applications to Sherman Library & Gardens and M. H. Sherman Company for their review. The finalists interview with Sherman Company representatives at the Gardens. The HCS Department Head, Dr. John Peterson, is present at these interviews and participates in the selection of the Arnold D. Haskell Scholars.
Recipients must complete a six-week internship for academic credit at the Sherman Library & Gardens during the summer following receipt of the scholarship. I achieved this scholarship not only through my hard work but also through the help of my professors. It was important to write a clear, thoughtful, and unique essay to catch the attention of the Haskell Foundation. In my essay I explained how my love for being outdoors and working with my dad’s landscape design and maintenance company had taught me a lot about this industry and how this industry has shaped me into the confident, determined and responsible person I am today. I can’t wait until the summer for the internship portion of the scholarship. I will be able to learn and work in one of the most beautiful public gardens I’ve ever been to. Tough life, right?
I was pretty nervous during the waiting process – not knowing whether I was going to be interviewed or not. Then finally I was told that I had been granted an interview! Dr. Peterson drove me and the other HCS interviewees four hours south to Sherman Gardens in Orange County. Looking like business professionals, we all arrived in Corona Del Mar and were given a tour of the beautiful gardens. One-by-one we were called in with three of the principal Sherman Gardens staff and Dr. Peterson. I was very nervous but the interviewers were so nice! They were easy to talk to and were genuinely interested in you as a person and what you were about. I found myself relaxed and comfortable in the interview. If you are thinking about applying for this scholarship I can say that confidence is probably the biggest factor. Be confident. You are a Cal Poly student with the knowledge and skills to do great things!
The Haskell Story http://www.slgardens.org/:
“In 1955 Arnold D. Haskell (1895-1977) bought the Norman’s Nursery property at the corner of Dahlia Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway in Corona del Mar, California. The property included a small adobe house that he planned to use as his Orange County office. Shortly after occupying the adobe Mr. Haskell began landscaping the nursery site and the surrounding property. By 1958 the nursery area, now known as The Tea Garden, was being used as a community service project by the Newport Harbor Service League (later to become the Junior League of Orange County) for the sale of pastries, coffee and tea.
Mr. Haskell’s concept for the property was then expanded to include the building of a beautiful garden that would be open to the public. It was to be a serene oasis – a respite from the stress and pressures of daily schedules. During the 1960s the balance of the property making up the entire 2.2-acre block, which is now occupied by Sherman Library & Gardens, was acquired. Remodeling of the original buildings, consisting of the present gift shop, Gardens office and the adobe house, and construction of the Library, conservatory and central patio building were all completed between 1967 and 1974.
Typically (for he always shunned personal publicity) Mr. Haskell named the Library & Gardens after his mentor and benefactor, M.H. Sherman (1853-1932), and not after himself.”
Cal Poly Horticulture and Crop Science 