2019 Horticulture Internship Placements

Reese Bryant
Rising Senior, Horticulture
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, South Carolina

Claire Bunes
Senior in Horticulture
Newfields: A Place for Nature and the Arts in Indianapolis, IN

My name is Claire Bunes, I’m a senior with one semester left to complete Clemson University’s Horticulture degree. This summer I travelled to Newfields in Indianapolis, IN. Newfields’ gardens and grounds were established in the early 1900s at the Lilly family’s estate, it now also includes the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the 100 Acre Art & Nature Park. The fellowship program at Newfields offers a unique public garden experience by rotating fellows through work in formal, woodland, ravine, sensory, vegetable, and cutting gardens as well as the park focused on native forest and prairie species. My time at Newfields has been much more than a public garden experience or a job, but also a chance to connect with wonderful plant people and explore the natural environment in a part of the country I had never visited before. I am so thankful for the opportunity to work with Newfields’ horticulture team and I highly recommend this program to any student with an interest in plants!

Michael Henry Franks
Senior Horticulture
Noble Farms LLC, Gray Court, South Carolina

My name is Michael Franks I am a Senior Horticulture major at Clemson University. This past summer I worked as a Garden Manager and Farm Hand at Noble Farms because I wanted to practice horticultural skills I have learned in the classroom and expand my knowledge of agricultural crops and livestock. On the farm my responsibilities included looking after livestock, cutting hay, operating and maintaining equipment, planting vegetable crops (direct sow and transplant), scouting, weeding, watering, and harvesting crops. I really enjoyed this internship because it gave me a great opportunity to practice skills I have learned in real world operations on a small vegetable farm and expand my knowledge of the day to day operations of a cattle farm.

Meredith Gaines
Senior Biological Sciences Major with Horticulture Minor
Filoli in Woodside, CA

Hello, my name is Meredith Gaines and I am about to start my final semester at Clemson University. In December I will graduate with a BS. in Biological Sciences with a minor in Horticulture. This summer I got the amazing opportunity to work and study at Filoli located in the Bay Area of California. Filoli is a large estate surrounded by sixteen acres of formal gardens. During my ten weeks in this program I rotated in five sections of the garden, attended weekly plant walks, and completed over 40 workshops to grow in my understanding of the Horticulture field and other related fields. My time at Filoli has been an amazing one. I would recommend this internship to students that want a well rounded and hands-on experience of how a historical public garden operates.

Alora Grimes
Rising senior, Horticulture
Musser Farm, Seneca, South Carolina

My name is Alora Grimes and I am a senior Horticulture major at Clemson University. This summer I have been working as a nursery intern at Musser Farms because I wanted to expand my knowledge of plant propagation and learn about life on a farm. At the farm I have learned about the production of a wide variety of fruits which includes picking, sorting, pruning, thinning, grafting, data collection and seed collection. I also helped out with basic farm maintenance, such as mulching, sanitizing, and weeding. This was a wonderful internship for me because I got to learn so much about everyday operations on a farm and how fruits are experimented on through university research. I realized I actually do love working outside, and I have gained so many valuable skill sets while under the supervision of experienced professionals. This experience has really opened my eyes to the things I would love to look for in a full-time job, but also the things I would try to avoid doing for a career; I am thankful for both. I would definitely recommend working here.

Katie Justice
Rising Senior, Horticulture
Oconee Cultivation Project, Westminster, South Carolina

My name is Katie Justice and I am a senior Horticulture major at Clemson University. This summer I interned for Oconee Cultivation Project, a non-profit organization that starts community gardens in Oconee County. I worked in the Westminster Community Garden weeding, mulching, applying compost, and harvesting. I was also the point of contact for community members who had gardening questions. Another responsibility of mine was coordinating events in the community to get people involved in the garden. I had a great time working for OCP; learning what it takes to start and maintain a community garden. I would highly recommend interning for them.

Devon Lee
Rising Senior, Biological Sciences
Clemson University’s Coastal Research and Education Center, Charleston, South Carolina

My name is Devon Lee and I am a senior Biological Sciences major at Clemson University. I was given the incredible opportunity to intern at Clemson’s Coastal Research and Education Center [CREC] in Charleston, South Carolina. While working at the CREC I gained a large amount of practical knowledge about the agricultural research process. My daily responsibilities involved basic field and laboratory technical work like grafting, harvesting, seeding, planting cuttings, transplanting, watering, preparing soil samples and irrigation maintenance. I developed a great passion for agricultural research while working here. The CREC is full of groundbreaking research, unique hands-on learning opportunities and great people. If you hope to one day conduct research that gives back to the community, this job is definitely for you.

Luke LeGros
Rising Senior, Horticulture
Hope Greenhouses LLC, Fair Play, South Carolina

My name is Luke LeGros and I am currently a rising senior majoring in Horticulture at Clemson University. This past summer I worked for Hope Greenhouses at The Hemp Mine in Fair Play, SC as an intern in cultivation and production. Our focus is to cultivate high-quality hemp plants and provide premium CBD products to our customers. While interning, I received exposure to numerous aspects of the industry. Some of my responsibilities include taking and rooting cuttings, tending to the plants in the propagation and mother-plant greenhouses, tending to the irrigation and fertilizer and preparing products to be delivered to retailers. I went into this internship with the hope of obtaining knowledge of the industry and received so much more. I learned multiple aspects of cultivation as well as the hardships one might face in farming and how to overcome them. My internship has truly been an unforgettable experience and I have no doubt that the lessons I have learned while interning here will endure throughout my future career in Horticulture as well as throughout my life.

Kerrie McCaffrey
Rising Junior, Horticulture
Summerhill Landscapes. East Hampton, New York

My name is Kerrie McCaffrey and I am a junior Horticulture major at Clemson University. This summer I had the opportunity to intern at one of the largest landscaping companies on the eastern end of Long Island. Throughout this internship I was exposed to all aspects of the company by working in several departments. I gained experience in designing, installing and maintaining private vegetable and flower gardens in client’s homes. I got to see the design process and then install each garden and maintain them for the rest of the summer. Everyday activities included pruning, mulching, watering, fertilizing, weeding, staking, and much more. I really enjoyed this internship because I got to use knowledge I learned at Clemson and combine it with all the new things I learned every day. I am very satisfied with my choice to spend my summer working here.

Paul Millar
Rising Junior, Horticulture
Vertical Roots Mt. Pleasant, SC

My name is Paul Millar and I am a rising junior Horticulture student who was fortunate enough to have a fantastic internship experience this summer working at Vertical Roots in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Located just outside of downtown Charleston, Vertical Roots is a vertical farming company producing lettuce in refurbished shipping containers. Vertical Roots provides lettuce to a variety of local schools, restaurants and businesses. During my time here I was able to work closely with their Horticulture staff doing daily maintenance on the hydroponic systems, monitoring plant health and doing research to improve growth and development. I also worked hands on with the farming staff seeding, transplanting, cleaning and packaging lettuce for sale. I had an incredibly unique and rewarding experience here getting to see concepts and designs that I had learned in school applied on a commercial scale. I would highly recommend this internship for anyone that has an interest in hydroponics, urban farming or sustainable local food systems.

Sara Price
Rising Junior, Horticulture
Clemson Coastal Research and Education Center, Charleston, South Carolina

My name is Sara Price and this summer I had the opportunity to work with Clemson University’s Coastal Research and Education Center staff. work was varied and from day to day I could be performing soil sample analysis in the lab, taking cuttings of hemp, or grafting vegetable crops for field trials. I also was able to embrace my inner farm girl by helping the fellow crews at the CREC pull plastic and dig furrows. My time spent here really opened my eyes to how research works in the agricultural field. I went into this experience not knowing if I would like working outside or if I would be able to use the skills I had been taught in the classroom. After my three months of very hard work, Clemson CREC made me feel successful in who I was and what I chose to major in.

Douglas Walker
Rising Senior, Horticulture
The Greenery Inc. Hilton Head Island, SC

My name is Douglas Walker and I am a senior Horticulture major at Clemson University. For the past summer I worked for a large-scale landscape operation called The Greenery Inc. in Hilton Head, South Carolina to help further my knowledge of landscape maintenance and irrigation. At this company I worked with several different crews and learned how to plant trees, shrubs, flowers, apply mulch, mow grass, weed eat, dig holes/trenches, as well as operate bobcats, sod cutters, zero turn equipment, and Kubota ATVs. I really enjoyed my time with this company as I met awesome employees and was exposed to how a multimillion-dollar landscape operation works. This opportunity allowed me a once in a lifetime opportunity to look behind the scenes of how a company this large operates. I would definitely recommend this internship.

Angelica Werth
Rising Senior, Horticulture and Spanish
Foundation Claude Monet, Giverny, France

I am a rising senior at Clemson University, working towards degrees in horticulture and Spanish. This summer, I had the privilege to complete my advanced internship in Giverny, France, working in the gardens started and cherished by Impressionist painter Claude Monet. There, we had a rotation that allowed me to work in propagation, the main flower garden (by the house), and the water garden. Duties of course varied by section, but commonly included transplanting, deadheading, and weeding. In the water garden, I also got to go in the pond to deadhead and thin the leaves of the water lilies, which was one of my favorite parts of the experience. Despite some rain early on, I found the work quite rewarding and the work environment pleasant. Overall, it further convinced me of my plan to direct a botanical garden someday, although I discovered an unexpected attraction for aquatic plants. Additionally, I was struck by the admiration the visitors had for the garden, and how the cultural significance of such a place had created such a positive economic and social impact on the quiet little village. It was, undoubtedly, an unforgettable experience!