Cat Meholic, the newest addition to the Temple University Ambler community, believes that there was no one "Ah ha!" moment that instilled in her a passion for plants.
"I've wondered about that sometimes. I have three sisters and I'm definitely 'the plant one,'" laughed Meholic, who recently joined the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University staff as the Curatorial Horticulturist. "I think initially it came from the people I encountered who took an interest in me. They had a great impact on my perspective on plants, on horticulture as an art and science — indoors and outdoors...
Mike Stokes considers himself among the very fortunate. He had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Jeffrey Featherstone, Director of the Center for Sustainable Communities at Temple University, for more than 30 years.
When Featherstone went to work for the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) in the 1980s, Stokes thought of him as the “the young guy” even though Featherstone was two years his senior.
“There were the old engineers working with their slide rules and in comes this young guy with new skills and a new approach to planning,” said Stokes, Assistant Director of the...
Newly minted Temple Ambler Owl Heather Earlin has a specific motivation for pursuing her degree in Psychology."When I look at things from a psychological standpoint, the world makes much more sense to me," she said. "I can analyze why people do what they do and why they say certain things or chose to approach situations the way they do. It gives me a better understanding of the world around me."A recent transfer student from Montgomery County Community College, Earlin initially started her college career with the idea of becoming a nurse, another avenue that would have allowed...
A printmaker, a health and wellness coach, a cardboard manufacturer sit in a classroom among other classmates with two major things in common. All are veterans and all are entrepreneurs ready to grow their business. A study by the SBA Office of Advocacy found that veterans are almost 50 percent more likely to be self-employed than non-veterans. Veterans may turn to entrepreneurship as a way to establish work-life balance and financial independence or due to dissatisfaction with available workforce opportunities.Military training can provide the discipline, leadership,...
Temple University Horticulture major Katie Roberts' educational career began at Temple Ambler as many other journeys do.It started with a road trip."I was a business major for one and a half years but I knew early on that simply wasn't what I was meant to do with my life. I had a professor in Florida who was teaching a horticulture course and I simply fell in love with the program — his passion for the subject inspired me," said Roberts, 21, who transferred to Temple from Florida Southern College in spring 2018. "I wanted to get closer to home (Middletown, N.J.) and I...
To say that Antony DiBruno knows a bit about business is like saying there's water in the ocean. It's not wrong, but it's certainly underselling reality."I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit. When I was 17, I started my own business — I opened a steak and hoagie joint inside a pool hall in South Philadelphia. It lasted about four years," said DiBruno, Temple University Ambler's new Conference Services and Business Development Coordinator. "I moved on to banking and then to the nightclub and bar industry. I was a managing partner of a place in Old City called 'The...
Karl Kraus has some general advice for entrepreneurs just starting out on their road to creating a new business."Define what you are offering, who your market is and what value your business offers to the customer," said Kraus, Senior Business Specialist and Manager of Temple's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the Ambler Campus. "Draw up a plan and seek out independent advice."That's where the Small Business Development Center comes in. The SBDC, an outreach center of the Fox School of Business and Management, has been working to help fledgling businesses bridge the...
Thirty years ago, John F. Collins, FASLA, and a dedicated group of faculty built on 75 years of environmental education offered at Temple University Ambler to create prestigious four-year undergraduate programs in Landscape Architecture and Horticulture that have generated dedicated leaders in every field of the green industry.In practice with his own landscape architecture and environmental planning firm for 25 years prior to coming to Temple, Collins "needed some soldiers," in the battle to preserve the environment."I wanted students that would look at nature, not pave over...
Think of Liz Windhaus as a train engineer, ensuring her charges get to their destination by the most direct route possible.
In this case, that destination happens to be one of the most important decisions they'll make in their lives.
As the new Enrollment Coordinator at Temple University Ambler, Windhaus will be among the first people with whom a prospective student or applicant will interact. She will be on the front lines of generating and converting quality leads into enrolled students.
"There is no question that for a student the enrollment process can be complex....
The benefits from outdoor play for mind, body and spirit are well-documented and create a lasting connection to nature and wildlife that help promote happiness and good health.Unfortunately, as the hustle and bustle of everyday life seems to become more and more hectic, connecting with nature and the outdoors is often left out of the equation. Temple Ambler EarthFest and the Ambler Arboretum are hoping to reverse that trend.On July 13 and 14, the Arboretum and EarthFest will partner to host the Great American Campout on campus, an evening of camping, tours, stargazing and more...
Temple University Psychology graduate Tess DeVos has been a problem solver her whole life.
"I was the kid that always tried to resolve social issues in school. If someone was being bullied, I tried to stop it. If there was a fight, I tried to defuse it," she said. "My parents would joke that I would be the one at home that said 'Let's sit down at the table and work this out.' When I first told my dad I was thinking about Psychology as a career, he said 'Yes, that sounds about right.'"
With a stellar 3.95 GPA, DeVos said she initially planned to become a school...
High on the wall of the Landscape Architecture Junior Design Studio, two sentences have been immortalized.
"The work is hard. Do the work."
It is a phrase often said by Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Rob Kuper — an important mantra for all of the students that go through Temple's program and a reminder that, while the journey won't be easy, the outcome will be worth it.
It's a call to action that has certainly resonated with Landscape Architecture graduate Grace Manning, 23, of Hatboro, PA.
"I think one of the essential things I learned very early on...
It is the extremely rare student that comes to Temple University Ambler via Norway. Landscape Architecture senior Hanne Nilsberg is, fortunately, one of those rarities.
"I discovered Temple University Ambler and Temple's Landscape Architecture program on a list of programs provided by the Norwegian Landscape Architecture Association. I had been an exchange student in Florida and my family has traveled extensively in the United States, but I had never been to the Philadelphia region," said Nilsberg, who graduated with her Bachelor's in Landscape Architecture on May 9. "I...
Like many college students, Lindsay Washington's journey didn't start with the goal of getting her bachelor's degree in Psychology from Temple."At first, I was interested in retail merchandising. I started at Montgomery County Community College with the goal of working in the fashion industry," said Washington, 22, of Wyncote, who transferred to Temple University Ambler in the spring of 2018. "It didn't take too long to realize that it wasn't for me. I wanted to find something where I could help people, where I could make a difference."She didn't have to look far for...
Temple University Horticulture major Autumn Ayers' approach to plants might be a little different from many horticulturists.Rather than propagation or cultivation, Ayers is more interested in identification and sussing out the story the plants have to tell about where they are growing, when and how they were planted and how the gardens in which they thrive came into being. "I have a passion for plant identification — it's an odd passion, I know — but I know that's my calling," said Ayers, who completed her Horticulture bachelor's degree in December 2018 and walked...
More and more, faculty at Temple University are making a discovery of a different sort — the Temple University Ambler campus is an invaluable resource to conduct research and engage in hands-on learning in a broad array of disciplines.
At Temple Ambler, Civil Engineering and Earth and Environmental Science professors are researching seismic waves and earthquakes — an impossibility at Temple's urban locations — while College of Science and Technology researchers study hydrology, weather and more. Criminal Justice experts are training the next generation of police officers and...
A walk around the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University provides a clear indication that the care of trees is an important aspect of the research and hands-on opportunities undertaken by students and faculty every semester. With a continued commitment to determining new and better ways to care for the campus' tree collection, Temple University Ambler, home to the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, has been awarded a "Tree Campus USA" designation by the Arbor Day Foundation in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017.The Arbor Day Foundation recently announced the campus has also...
Dr. Chantel White is a time traveler. Her Wayback Machine is currently set to 42,000 years in the past where a group of the first anatomically modern humans settled in a cave in what is now Jordan.
Unlike many other archeologists, Dr. White doesn't uncover the past through bones or carvings or structures. She finds history in plant material such as seeds and wood.
"In archaeology, there has been a lot of research about large scale agriculture — the beginning of farming, plant domestication, the development of staple crops that fed thousands," said Dr. White,...
Michelle Lapp had a rather fortuitous meeting not so very long ago that helped lead her down a career path she was always interested in taking."I've always had a passion for public and private gardens. Whenever I walk through one, I always feel good — I couldn't have imagined that I would be given the opportunity to contribute to Temple Ambler's Arboretum," said Lapp, who was a senior graphic designer at the Saint-Gobain Corporation for 13 years before the corporation let their in-house graphics team go. "While I was still at Saint-Gobain, I had the opportunity to take a...
It wasn't so very long ago that Dr. Kimberly Cooney was in the same position as the students she is dedicated to guiding in her new role as Manager of Student Success and Retention at Temple University Ambler."I had to answer the same questions when I was an undergraduate at Temple. What is the right major for me? What profession? How do I achieve my goals," said Cooney, who graduated with a degree in Psychology from Temple in 2006. "Each student has different needs, particularly when they are starting out; it can be a very complicated process. My goal is to help them determine...