Cal Poly Horticulture Student Receives $7,500 Scholarship From San Francisco Orchid Society

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- A Cal Poly environmental horticulture student has received a $7,500 scholarship from the San Francisco Orchid Society.

orchid photo The annual scholarship is part of the society’s mission to enhance education about orchids. Student Ryan Guillou received the scholarship at the society’s 54th annual Pacific Orchid Exposition in February. This is the third year that the society has awarded the scholarship, and Guillou is the third Cal Poly student to receive it.

The first scholarship of its kind, the annual SFOS Horticultural Scholarship provides financial aid coupled with hands-on learning. Scholarship funds will pay for Guillou to serve as a student assistant, helping to manage the orchid production greenhouse at Cal Poly’s Ornamental Horticulture Unit, and establishing and maintaining an orchid display area at the Poly Plant Shop.

Guillou, 18, from Venice, was first introduced to plants by a neighbor with a jungle-landscaped backyard.

About the Cal Poly Horticulture and Crop Science Department
For the last 25 years, Cal Poly has operated the largest horticulture program in the country, with more than 300 students currently enrolled. The program’s 15 acres of land include a three-acre arboretum, 35,000 square-feet of greenhouses and shade houses, a nursery, a retail plant shop, laboratories and landscaped areas, along with additional acres of orchards, vineyards, and field crops. Visit the program’s Web site at: http://hcrs.calpoly.edu/.

About the San Francisco Orchid Society:
The mission of the society is to foster the culture and cultivation of orchids and to promote education of its members and the public about orchids. Visit the society’s Web site at: http://www.orchidsanfrancisco.org/.

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Editors Note: For a photo of Guillou, contact Teresa Hendrix at thendrix@calpoly.edu.