Jamison Coopman works on a floral arrangement for the UWRF Horticulture Society's Valentine's Day fundraising sale.

American Society of Horticultural Science Names Outstanding Senior and Collegiate Scholars

April 24, 2015 – Senior Jameson Coopman has been named the 2015 Outstanding Senior in Horticulture at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls by the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS). He is a senior double majoring in horticulture and Spanish. 

Coopman, of Waunakee, will graduate in May and has accepted a graduate assistantship at the University of Florida in the Environmental Horticulture Program where he will conduct research on native orchid ecology and restoration. 

At UW-River Falls, Coopman has been actively involved in the Horticulture Society, including organizing a landscape renovation at the UW-River Falls Kao House for International Activity. He also participated in an undergraduate research project using tissue culture strategies and has had two internships, the first with the Denver Botanic Gardens focusing on micro-propagation and the second with Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania that focused on conservatory management. 

Students are selected for the ASHS Outstanding Senior Award on the basis of their academic achievements, leadership abilities, participation in campus and club activities, and service to their department. Annually, only one student per institution is honored with this award. 

In addition, ASHS recognizes students with the ASHS Collegiate Scholars Award.  Students must be in the top 15 percent of their class based on academic standing (grade point average). The 2015 recipients from UWRF (all horticulture majors except Courtney Vikeras who is a biology major) are: 

Emily Balder, Cannon Falls, Minn.Aaron Pingel, ClintonvillePeter Ault, Eau ClaireNathanael Holmes, EllsworthKatie Eggert, Hutchinson, Minn.Joel Sehloff, MaloneBrittany Rootes, MinneapolisSarah Kummeth, Osseo, Minn.Courtney Vikeras, Rochester, Minn.Jameson Coopman, WaunakeePhil Martola, West Bend