The Sarasota Orchid Society Scholarship requirements:
Each academic year, the Sarasota Orchid Society awards scholarships of $1,000.00 to one or more high school seniors or college students from Sarasota or Manatee County with a declared major in the study of horticulture, botany, environmental science, or landscape design. The scholarship is for a one-year period. Scholarship recipients attending college may reapply annually for a period of three additional years if they continue to meet the criteria for the award. Scholarship money is released upon verification of the applicant’s status as a full-time student (at least 12 credit hours) and at least a 3.0 GPA.
To be eligible for the Sarasota Orchid Society Scholarship, applicants shall:
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Have been a resident of Florida for at least one year preceding the academic year for which the application is made.
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Be enrolled in a Sarasota or Manatee County High School as a full-time student or enrolled as a college student with legal residence in Sarasota or Manatee.
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Declare a major in one of the fields of study listed above.
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Submit 2 letters of recommendation; one from a staff member of the applicant’s current school and one from a person unrelated to the applicant.
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Submit a resume of extra-curricular activities, honors, leadership, job experience, non-school activities, and community service.
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Submit a statement explaining your interest in earning a degree in a natural science field.
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Submit a transcript with a 3.0 unweighted Grade Point Average or more, including SAT and/or ACT scores.
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Return the application by Friday, March 31, 2023, to Jenna Ellis, Chairperson of the Scholarship Committee, Email: jenna.r.weaver@gmail.com
SOS Scholarship College Eligibility Requirements
Sarasota Orchid Society Scholarship HS Application
Sarasota Orchid Society Scholarship College Eligibility Req.
Sarasota Orchid Society Scholarship College Application
2023 Sarasota Orchid Society Scholarship Recipients:
Piper Cole (Picture on left):
New College of Florida 2023 graduate
Bachelor of Arts in Botany with a minor in Chemistry
Undergraduate thesis – an alternative method for collection/analysis of floral volatiles in orchids using cheaply sourced materials
Research and internship at Selby Gardens
Research with Missouri Botanical Gardens
Accepted to graduate school at the University of Georgia
$1,000 scholarship +$1,000 honorarium for focus on orchids
Maya Lander (Picture on right):
Repeat Scholarship winner
Just completed my freshmen year at the University of Florida studying landscape architecture
She chose this major because it combines two areas she is passionate about, design and architecture and nature and the outdoors.
Maya was awarded a $1,000 scholarship
Maddox McGrath unable to attend:
A recent graduate of Suncoast Polytechnical
Accepted at U of FL planning to major in environmental engineering.
Maddox was awarded a $1,000 scholarship
2022 Sarasota Orchid Society Scholarship Recipients:
The Sarasota Orchid Society proudly announced the two $1,000 winners of the Sarasota Orchid Society academic scholarships during their monthly meeting on June 6th at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.
Maya Lander will attend the University of Florida seeking a major in landscape architecture. She hopes to design state and national parks and study sustainability as a minor. Her dream is to help preserve our environment as her life’s work. She has been active in the Girl Scouts of America for 12 years and achieved the rank of Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards, equivalent to Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts. Her project was a Relax Room next to the Nurses Office in her school for students who experiencing anxiety and stress during Covid. The idea has been submitted to the Manatee School Board to be used in other schools. She has a weighted grade point average of 4.38.
Charles Foster attends the University of Florida and is working toward a PhD in Entomology and Nematology. His high school achievements included being an outstanding student and member of the National Honor Society, an Eagle Scout, and Lodge Chief of the 4 districts of Eagle Scouts that make up the Osceola Lodge, Order of the Arrow(National Honor Society for the BSA), playing the violin in the band and an ensemble at Cardinal Mooney that performed at Disney World, internship crossbreeding Angus & Cracker cattle, maintained a 175 container bucket garden with bio-friendly fertilizer. He was enrolled in dual enrollment classes at UF for the summer of 2019 before his senior year and researched nematodes on pepper plants.
He has received the highest praise from his professors involved with the honey bee research project that he has worked with since the fall of 2020. It’s an international research project collecting, sorting, and cataloging 80,000 bees. They are studying the DNA of bees and the causes of so many bees dying. Two factors have been bacteria and hive beetles. He is currently helping with toxicology studies.
2020 Sarasota Orchid Society Scholarship Recipients:
Charles O. Foster a graduate of Cardinal Mooney High School
Sierra Smith a graduate from Venice High
2019 Sarasota Orchid Society Scholarship Recipients:
Julia Rose Weber a graduate of Riverview High School
2018 Scholarship Recipients:
Jordan Olson completed her first semester at St. Petersburg College
Elizabeth Gape a graduate Braden River High School,
Michael Jungels has completed 2 years in botanical science at the State College of Florida
2017 Scholarship Recipients:
Joy Jacobs, a graduate of Venice High School
Brady Schwabach, a graduate of Booker High School
Jordan Olson, a graduate of Palmetto High School
Carly Fronckowiak, a graduate of Venice High School