A Passion for Plant Science

Kent resident latest in line of Tri-C students to earn Proven Winners scholarship

Kyle Kutinsky’s landscaping career has taken him across the country. With the help of a recent scholarship award, he’s one step closer to returning to the place where he first discovered his passion for plant science.

Kutinsky is one of three community college students chosen to receive a $2,000 scholarship from the Proven Winners plant company. He is on track to earn an Associate of Applied Science in Plant Science and Landscape Technology from Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C^®) this spring.

He plans to earn a bachelor’s degree and eventually teach landscape management at his alma mater, Theodore Roosevelt High School in Kent.

"I went through the same class when I was there and fell in love with horticulture, botany and arboriculture," Kutinsky said.

Employment with Davey Tree Service’s residential crew in Youngstown led to positions with Davey Resource Group and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he inspected trees throughout New York City and Worcester, Massachusetts, for invasive beetles.

From there, Kutinsky started his own company that maintained vegetation on cell towers throughout the United States. He got married, enrolled at Tri-C and now works as an arborist for Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

This is the fifth year that a Tri-C student has garnered a scholarship from Proven Winners. Kutinsky follows Aunna Torres in 2022, Layla Lang in 2020, Kasandra Hernandez in 2019 and Tai-Renee King in 2018.

February 06, 2023

MEDIA CONTACT: Anthony Moujaes, 216-987-3068 or anthony.moujaes@tri-c.edu