A Cut Above: Tri-C Horticulture Student Wins STIHL Scholarship

Beth Whipple becomes second Tri-C student in three years to claim the national honor

Winning the national STIHL Inc. Landscape Industry Scholarship will allow horticulture student Beth Whipple to cut into her tuition payments at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C^®). 

The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) Foundation recently announced Whipple as the recipient of the $2,500 scholarship. She will be recognized later this month during a virtual conference. 

Whipple, of Mentor, began taking classes at Tri-C in 2016. She is working toward an Associate of Applied Science degree in plant science and landscape technology while working at Holden Arboretum. 

She earned a certificate in horticulture from Tri-C in 2019, as well as an Associate of Arts degree in 2020. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University. 

Whipple has represented Tri-C twice in the National Collegiate Landscape Competition. She finished second in the annual and perennial plant identification event in 2019. She placed fifth in the same event in 2018. 

Tri-C’s Plant Science and Landscape Technology program ranks among the top in the country in preparing students for careers in landscape design and construction; garden center or nursery management; and other horticulture fields. 

Whipple is the second Tri-C student in three years to win the STIHL scholarship through the NALP Foundation. She follows Kasandra Hernandez in 2019.

STIHL manufacturers the world’s top selling brand of chain saws as well as other gasoline-powered outdoor power equipment. The company’s scholarship through the NALP Foundation recognizes a student who demonstrates outstanding leadership and industry potential.

March 11, 2021

John Horton, 216-987-4281 john.horton@tri-c.edu