Bert Shoosmith Scholarship

Albert James (Bert) Shoosmith Scholarship Program was established by Virginia Nursery & Landscape Association in 2003 to help students working toward their first undergraduate degree. VNLA will award scholarships of $1,500 to two or more students enrolled in a college of university for the next academic year and two or more scholarships of $750 to students enrolled in 2-year community college program. The scholarship may not exceed costs of education billed by the school. Scholarship money will be paid directly to the school.

Albert James (Bert) Shoosmith's father, Fred Shoosmith, was one of the founding fathers of the VNLA in 1931. Bert Shoosmith was one of the founding fathers of the Virginia Society of Landscape Designers in 1960 and the Middle Atlantic Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society. He was sowing seeds at age five and worked a hoe at eight. He was a Nurseryman, Landscape Architect and Grower of unusual cultivars of rhododendron and broadleaf evergreens. "One of my greatest pleasures is a walk in my garden at home in the cool of the evening," he said. It was his wish that part of his estate be used to fund three or more horticulture scholarships each year.

Eligibility Requirements:

1. Applicant must be a graduating high school senior or equivalent, or a college student (rising freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior) taking at least nine credit hours per semester at an accredited college or university for the next academic year. Applicant may be in an undergraduate program or in an associate's degree program at a community college. Graduate students are not eligible. 

2. Applicant must have a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA).

3. Applicant must be majoring in horticulture or related agricultural curriculum.

4. Preference will be given first to Virginia residents attending a Virginia 2-year or 4-year college program.

5. VNLA officers, directors, committee members, and their families are not eligible.