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Nursery & Landscape Notes is introducing you to the next generation of green industry professionals by featuring current and recent college students with plans to pursue careers in the field.
Lindsay Healy Lindsay Healy of Marion, N.C., graduated from Western Piedmont Community College in May 2021 with a degree in horticulture technology. She participated in a work-study program for the horticulture department while in school, assisting the instructor with preparing the greenhouse for tours from local junior high schools, maintaining the gardens around the head house, helping to maintain their aquaponics system, and maintaining the production greenhouse when students were not participating in lab time. How did you discover horticulture?
Lindsay helps a severely autistic teen who had previously only interacted with a tablet. He planted the zucchini seeds himself, which helped improve his focus and fine motor skills. Lindsay was pleased with his enthusiasm, as he had never been exposed to this environment before.
For the past 10 years I have worked in emergency medical services (EMS), and the last seven of those I served as a paramedic for Rutherford County. EMS was my passion, but it came with a cost: I developed post-traumatic stress disorder while working on the ambulance. During downtime at the base, I would go outside and prune the rose bushes in front of the ambulance bay with my trauma shears. This quickly became one of my favorite parts of going to work. I began thinking that when the day came to retire from EMS, I would go back to school to work with plants, and that led me to find the world of horticulture. With encouragement from my wife, I decided not to wait for retirement before beginning a career in horticulture, and I applied for classes at Western Piedmont Community College.
12 NURSERY & LANDSCAPE NOTES || SUMMER 2021
What were your most valuable experiences, either in school or from other exposure to the industry?
In March 2020 I was taking a course in greenhouse production. We had sown our seeds, germinated them on heat mats and watched them grow until true leaves emerged. Once emerged, we transplanted them carefully into the containers where they would continue to grow until the time came for the spring plant sale — or so we thought. The pandemic then forced all classes to go to an online format, which meant that my classmates and I would not be allowed in the greenhouse to water, fertilize and care for our plants. Our teacher, Brandon Pitman, knew this would be devastating for us. He and the college were able to work out a plan so that each student had a designated time slot to pick up several trays of plants to continue growing at home. Fortunately, I had just purchased a 10’x12’ greenhouse for my backyard. I attempted to mimic the greenhouse conditions at school to continue growing my plants in similar conditions at home. For me this was a very valuable experience because it placed all plant care in my hands. Of course, when I had questions, Mr. Pitman was there to answer them, but ultimately the responsibility was mine. I tend to learn best under pressure, so this was the perfect opportunity for me. In my head it was similar to working on the ambulance,
