February is National Career and Technical Education Month and Kishwaukee is celebrating by spotlighting students in the CTE fields. Pictured are Melissa Findlay and Melissa Baus, Floral Design students who both work in the Floral Department at Hy-Vee in Sycamore.
February is National Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month and Kishwaukee College is celebrating by spotlighting students who are enrolled in CTE Programs, like Melissa Baus and Melissa Findlay. The two Melissas are enrolled in the Floral Design Program in Horticulture at Kishwaukee and working in the Floral Department at the Hy-Vee in Sycamore.
Melissa B is from Genoa and a 2013 graduate of Genoa-Kingston High School. Melissa F is from Sycamore and a 2013 graduate of Sycamore High School. Ironically, the similarities continue from there. Neither of the two knew what they wanted to pursue when they first entered Kishwaukee College but when they took their first hort/floral design class, they knew instantly that they had discovered their
Melissa F recalled, “I actually only took the beginning floral class in the spring semester of 2014 because I needed an elective for the semester.”
She was already working at Hy-Vee as a cashier/courtesy clerk and thought the class may help her out there. Melissa B had taken floral design in high school but was pursuing a general Associates degree, until she enrolled in a horticulture occupations class and discovered that floral design was her true calling.
Both students name one person as having the biggest impact on their academic and personal preparation for a career in floral design: instructor Janet Gallagher. Melissa F stated, “I have never been good at school, but after my first class with Janet, I strived for my best. There is just something in Janet that makes you want to be better than you were yesterday.” Melissa B agreed, “She encourages us everyday to do better and talk about our ideas as designers, to create something amazing! She really wants us to think outside of the box.”
Janet Gallagher is impressed with the hard work of the two Melissas as well, “They both really work hard and do any extra work to get a project done well. They push their designs to make them the best they can be.” Janet will be accompanying them to the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD) annual convention which features the only national floral design competition for students. The competition will be held in Anaheim, CA in July.
Both students enjoy the creativity in the floral design process but also cite how design is so much more than that. “Knowing that I designed something for a customer to take home and say how beautiful it is,” Melissa B explained. “Or being apart of a bride’s special day – it just makes me feel proud of my job!”
Melissa F added, “Floral design offers me a form of self expression. It offers me stress relief. It provides me with constant learning opportunities, too, because this industry is always changing, and improving. Over the summer, I went to my first AIFD symposium convention in Colorado and, it may be hard to imagine, but just think of thousands of people all gathered together with the same passion for floral design. I have never felt more accepted and confident in something in my whole life.”
For the two Melissas, Floral Design is a passion and a vocation, as well as a career. It doesn’t get more beautiful than that!
Melissa Baus and Melissa Findlay: two of the many students celebrated during Career and Technical Education Month at Kishwaukee College.
For more information on the Horticulture Program at Kishwaukee College, contact Matt Feuerborn, Dean of Career Technologies at 815-825-2086, ext. 2030 or at matthew.feuerborn@kishwaukeecollege.edu.
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