American Institute of Floral Designers 2012 National Competition & Symposium “Caliente”

Posted by: Becca Bollier

This was the first year I attended the American Institute of Floral Designers Annual Competition and Symposium.  I was not quite sure what to expect, but I was thinking a day of competition, a few shows, and a little bit of time to explore Miami, FL.  As we arrived, we discovered there was so much to do!

The first major event was the competition.  As the competition neared I became more and more nervous.  Although we had practiced our designs before the competition and had them critiqued by local floral designers, I was a little bit intimidated since some of the young women from the other schools had been to symposium once or twice before.  Each student had to make a buffet table arrangement, bridal bouquet, sweetheart table arrangement, and two identical napkin rings.  The competition did not go as smoothly as planned, so I was relieved when it was over.  It was all a learning experience and I will be much more prepared for anything that might go wrong for the next competition!

Bridal Bouquet, Sweetheart Arrangement, Matching Napkin Rings, and Buffet Piece

Bridal Bouquet

Sweetheart Table Arrangement

Buffet Table Piece

As soon as the competition was over, we had a little bit of time to relax, but it was time to get started on our bouquet for the trends show.  There were different trends that were divided up to all of the different schools that were a part of the competition.  For each trend there was to be a bouquet, a screen, and a wedding arrangement.  This show was put on by Talmage McLaurin who is publisher of the popular floral design magazine, “Florists’ Review”.  He was so much fun to work with and was able to help us out a lot with our designs.  Cal Poly SLO was assigned the bouquet for the trend “Sea to Shining Sea.” This included beautiful shades of blues, greens, creams, and a touch of pink.  We wanted to create something similar to what you would see if you were to go to the tide pools just minutes away from Cal Poly.  To do this we made the bouquet that you were able to look inside.  This was not your ordinary bouquet.  We spent hours gluing on seashells and getting every little detail just right.  The bouquet was gorgeous and it was definitely worth the extra effort.  The bouquet was then in the show and on stage in front of hundreds of people.  It was then displayed for everyone to view up close.  So many great designers came up to us telling how much the loved it and how creative it was.  It was such a good feeling to know that all of these well known designers liked what they were seeing.

From Sea to Shining Sea Trend for 2012. Made by Cal Poly students Becca Bollier and Desiree Davis

From Sea to Shining Sea Trend for 2012 Bridal Bouquet

From Sea to Shining Sea 2012 Trend bridal bouquet

2012 Trends bridal bouquet

Throughout the week there were so many other things we were helping out with.  It seemed that we were going nonstop for the entire week, but it was definitely worth it!  We volunteered to be models for Fitz designs, which is a company that makes beautiful bouquet jewels, flower bracelets, body pieces, headpieces, and much more.  We also spent a good amount of time in the workroom.  We would help designers in any way possible.  This was an amazing experience that I will never forget.  I was able to meet and talk with so many different designers that are world renown and also learn some fun tips and tricks.  We also went to as many of the shows as possible.  I could not believe what I saw at some of the shows.  Everything was so extravagant and over the top from the shows, to the dinner events, to the floral decorations in the hotel lobby, and even in the bathroom!

Flowers to wear

Desiree Davis making her flowers to wear

I am so happy I was able to attend symposium this year.  It was a great opportunity to meet and work with so many amazing designers.  It was a rare experience to be able to help the designers so much with their designs.  I would love to go back next year where the convention will be held in Las Vegas, NV.  None of this would have been possible without Cal Poly’s amazing floral design lecturer, Melinda Lynch, AIFD, the Cal Poly Floral Design Team, and the Horticulture and Crop Science department!

Posted by: Becca Bollier

Becca Bollier

 

Useless?! Try Vital! A response to Yahoo!’s article “College Majors That Are Useless”

Posted by: Brean

Studying horticulture opens up doors around the world -- Here I am at Real Jardín Botánico, Madrid, Spain in August of 2011. One of the most gorgeous public gardens I've ever seen!

As future leaders within the Horticulture and Crop Science Department, we know better than to believe what is written in the article College Majors That Are Useless by Terrence Loose on Yahoo! Education.

Everyday – sometimes multiple times per day – we are receiving emails from our department about internships and career opportunities within crop science, landscape, public horticulture, turfgrass and sports field management, plant protection science, and greenhouse and nursery plant production all over the state, the country, and the world. That’s right: everyday, employers within these fields are seeking us to work for them!

Not to mention, the types of positions available to us are not only production-based (which is what Loose claims), but rather, they encompass a broad range such as marketing and sales representatives, research scientists, quality assurance managers — just to name a few. People may also be surprised to find out that the average starting salary for a graduate in the agriculture industry is almost $49,000 (according to the AgCareers.com/ AgrowKnowledge Enrollment and Employment Outlook Report and the AgCareers.com Compensation Benchmark Review).

Let’s also talk about the issue of “uselessness” of our degrees. The whole basis of our education is to provide food, flora, and fiber for the world. We might be so bold in making the statement that our degrees are, on the contrary, useful. According to the latest data from AgCareers.com, 81% of jobs in the ag industry require education beyond high school and almost half require at least a bachelor’s degree.  According to the AgCareers.com/AgrowKnowledge Enrollment and Employment Outlook Report in 2008 there was a deficit of 9,317 graduates with agriculture degrees to fill open positions in the U.S.

We are the future of agricultural and environmental plant sciences, and have taken responsibility to provide food, flora, and fiber sustainably and efficiently in a booming world population. With an increasing demand for high-quality and nutritious foods; advances in agriculture, science and technology; a growing population and a need to produce more with less, there are, in fact, a wide variety of rewarding, well-paid career opportunities in agriculture!

Those of us who are Agricultural and Environmental Plant Science majors at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo know the importance of our degrees and viability of our future careers!