Kansas State University

Student Spotlight, Ethan Taylor - Lawn & Landscape

At one time, Ethan Taylor figured he would end up in the Marines.

That's what his role model and uncle, John Taylor, did when he graduated high school, and it's what a lot of Ethan's peers did as they grew up, too. Ethan grew up in a suburb near New Orleans, where many of his classmates dropped out of school. His brother and mother each did that, albeit at separate times, and Ethan – the "black sheep," as he calls himself – wondered if college was even going to be an option for him.

He also says he was in a rocky spot with his family, so when his uncle stepped in and relocated him to Houston at 15 years old, he was exposed to a whole different world.  Read more...

Swimming Upstream - Lawn & Landscape

Contractors and educators alike are trying to find ways to properly teach irrigation methods to college students.

Just a few weeks ago, Kansas State's Cathie Lavis addressed a room full of homeowners and contractors to give them the basics on irrigation work.

Lavis says – pun intended – that she was trying to "water down" the presentation to make sure nothing went over anybody's head. The information she shared would give them enough background knowledge to keep their lawns green and that's about it. But some of the contractors seemed to already know how to do what Lavis told them, and they clearly had worked in the industry for several years and had plenty of experience.  Read more...

Schwab Received Award

Horticulture's Jacob Schwab received a Graduate Student Teaching Award at NACTA (North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture) Annual Conference in Twin Falls, Idaho, in June. Congrats to Jacob for having his work as an enthusiastic teacher recognized!

Undergraduate Students Spend Two Weeks Studying Abroad

Twenty-two undergraduate students from the Horticulture, Agricultural Education, Milling Science, and Engineering departments at K-State recently completed a two-week study abroad experience in Western Europe. Drs. Chad Miller and Cathie Lavis led the students through four different countries; the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. (Technically five countries as we had a brief stop in Germany as well!) The educational trip included several visits to a wide array of horticulture, cultural, and historical sites. Read more...

Barden Hosts International Exchange

Professor Charles Barden annually organizes a trip for international students to the Wamego Tulip Festival, held each spring, followed by a cookout at his home. Most of the students and interns were alumni from Zamorano University located in Honduras, although the students come from throughout Central and South America. He notes that the interns are here on a J-1 Visa, and one of the requirements to host a scholar on that type of visa, is to provide some American cultural experiences, hence the visit to the arts and crafts festival, to see a classic slice of Americana! This year 16 students and interns participated in the event! The cultural experience is a two-way street, with Barden providing the traditional U.S. cookout menu (s'mores anyone?"), while many of the students prepared favorite festival dishes to share from their own countries.