Agribusiness Students Win Scholarships at Competition

Eight Cal Poly Pomona agribusiness students won a total of $3,000 during a recent intercollegiate landscape project proposal competition.

The students were all from the same class – ABM 2010, Agribusiness Organizations and Careers – participating in the LandCare Case Competition, an event sponsored by LandCare LLC, a landscape design and maintenance firm with branches in more than 20 states.

The competition required students to prepare a written proposal and explanatory video for a landscape design with a $500,000 budget. The students worked in teams of three to four, and they had three weeks where they could meet via Zoom with LandCare managers to ask questions to assist them.

Six teams participated in the competition, which LandCare first started in 2019. The students submitted their proposals and videos on Nov. 19, and LandCare announced the top three teams on Dec. 3.

The team of Nathan Alexander, Merrissa Mae Day, Mingtao Fang, and Kate Golden finished in second place; each team member will receive a $500 scholarship.

The team of Daniel Sabella, Rick Tsui, Gloria Weise, and Alex White finished in third place; each team member will receive a $250 scholarship.

The two teams account for half the students registered for the ABM 2010 class.

“While the project required a great deal of effort and creativity from the students, it was a wonderful learn-by-doing experience grounded in a real-world problem,” said Professor Jon C. Phillips, who taught the class and advised the students. “The interaction between all students in the class and industry practitioners was priceless. We look forward to competing again next year!”

The students’ explanatory videos are here and here.

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