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I wasn't a very good student in high school. It was challenging for me to sit still and my attention was short on topics that didn't interest me at the time. After high school, I was anxious to start making money and be active outside working. My dad allowed me to work at the golf course for a year and then strongly encouraged me to attend college. Harper College was my choice because it offered Horticulture and Park & Grounds Management courses and was close enough to home to allow me to continue working. My family has been managing golf courses for two generations and I wanted to be part of the third generation working at a golf course. Harper’s program was a perfect fit.
Nervous but excited, I enrolled and fell in love with the science and craft of the industry. Dr. Ed Metcalf and Randy Illig ran the program with other instructors who specialized in Soil Science, contracts, and other specialties. Dr. Ed Metcalf’s style of teaching was exceptional and perfectly fit my style of learning. I went from an average student in high school to almost straight A's at Harper.
My experience at Harper College was so positive that it stimulated my desire to continue learning about the profession and attended Michigan State University. To this day, I credit my dad for the gentle push and Dr. Metcalf at Harper College for the passion in my profession that allowed me to make a good living for me and my family.
