Horticulture Center Staff

Jessica Chambers

The central focus of my job as Horticulture Coordinator is to develop the Horticulture Center and that entails many different aspects. It may include watering the annual beds, visiting “green” buildings, weeding, developing a web site and brochures, giving tours, planting hundreds of pumpkins seeds, writing grants, applying insecticides — basically it runs the gambit. And what a wonderful gambit it is!

As a horticulture alumna from ISU (1993) I am devoted to making this project become a reality. I wish I had had the opportunity to do such projects as receiving honors credit for designing and establishing an identification perennial bed, or maybe to have done a research study on zinnias, or perhaps to have even had the opportunity to be “Horticulture Center Assistant”. What I can do now is to make this a reality for our current students and for those that are yet to be Horticultural Redbirds!      

Mike Busing

Horticulture is a way to make the world a better place. It's a way to add beauty to our planet and the way I've chosen to put my stamp on the world. As humans we should endeavor to leave our surroundings better than we found it. I can think of no better way to accomplish this than to study and plant the gifts that God gave us. If anyone was ever born to work with their hands in the dirt, that person would be me. After 32 years in the business I still have a passion for watching things grow. The Horticulture Center is the perfect place to observe the miracles of nature.

Jenna Rozum

As a graduate assistant for the Horticulture Center, my responsibilities include everything from garden research and design, to writing for our newsletter, to volunteer coordination . . . and not to forget the never ending watering and weeding. All aspects of working at the Horticulture Center have provided me valuable hands-on experience in this field.

The time that I have spent at the Horticulture Center, either in the beginning as a volunteer or now as a graduate assistant, has given me a greater appreciation for the hard work and countless hours that it takes to develop the grounds. Being a part of this has renewed and affirmed my love for all areas of horticulture and I am privileged to be a part of something so wonderful.

Jonathan Damery

Gardening is an artistic act.  It may not seem as such when you’re doing the grubby tasks gardeners often must do, but it is true.  Artists, musicians, poets, and gardeners are all cut from the same cloth, and all are called to lend a hand in creating something fresh and new for others to enjoy.  It is a fine task, and as the undergraduate student assistant at the ISU Horticulture Center, it is a task that I have the pleasure of taking part in. 

Like the artist who is always painting new pictures to hang in his (or her) gallery, gardening is a whole cycle of preparation and presentation.  Of course the preparation is never as beautiful as the final product, but the whole process is what the artist enjoys.  At the Horticulture Center, the preparation that I have been involved in includes everything from weeding and watering to placing stones and moving soil with our tractor.  It covers a whole timeline, beginning with planting and ending with cleaning the beds after the frost.  Then, there are also times for presenting our work, much like the artist who is ready to unveil a new painting.  We are able to present our work to the community members both informally, when visitors simply stop by to enjoy the gardens, and also formally, at events like our annual Autumnal Festival.

I am thankful to be a part of all that goes on here.

Brittnay Whitted

While working at the Horticulture Center as an undergraduate assistant, and now graduate assistant, I have come to realize that no two days are ever the same and there are always jobs to be done. Some of my duties as an undergraduate assistant are design, install and maintain the gardens, lead educational tours (pre-school thru college age), tend to greenhouse plants, and assist in planning special events at the center. 

Being a part of the Horticulture Center has been one of the greatest opportunities I have had as a student here at ISU.  I enjoy working with Jessica and other Hort Center staff, as well as the amazing volunteers that are always there with a helping hand. As I look back on the time I have spent at the Hort Center thus far, I realize all that I have learned there and the incredible experiences I have had.  I look forward to continue helping the Horticulture Center grow and all of the great experiences along the way.