The Horticultural Research Institute, the AmericanHort foundation, in conjunction with the Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association has named Ohio State University graduate student Coralie Farinas as its 2019-2020 Bryan A. Champion Memorial Scholarship recipient. According to HRI, the funds will help Coralie continue her mission to contribute to plant disease solutions for ornamental plants.

 
As an ambitious green industry student, she holds undergraduate degrees in both horticulture science and plant biology. She is currently working on her graduate degree studying Phlox and powdery mildew with ultimate goals to provide the industry quick tools to help screen resistant lines of ornamentals susceptible to powdery mildew.

"The sum of my experiences not only proves my motivation to contribute to the advancement of the horticultural industry but offered formative experiences that deepened my commitment," said Farinas.

Her ambition is evidenced through a long list of internships and volunteer positions held with the American Phytopathological Society, Plant Pathology Graduate Student Association, National Institute of Agronomic Research, and the AmericanHort Scholar program, among others. Farinas looks forward to a career as a plant pathologist upon graduation.

Bryan A. Champion was a fifth-generation nurseryman with incredible passion for the nursery and landscape industry, HRI stated in its press release. As president of Herman Losely & Son, Inc. in Perry, Ohio, Champion understood the value of a quality education and the importance of industry research. He passed away in 2011 at the age of 47, and his peers swiftly established the fund in his honor.

Learn how to become involved in the work supported through HRI, the AmericanHort Foundation, at https://www.hriresearch.org.