With the Minnesota green industry ready to enter its busiest time of year, seven Dakota County Technical College Landscape & Horticulture students have joined the industry’s ranks by successfully passing the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association (MNLA) Certified Professional examination.
In order to pass the exam, individuals must achieve a score of at least 800 out of 1000. On March 10, seven DCTC students exceeded the required 800 and one student, Annette Langer, achieved a 920, the highest score of both the January and March exams.
Students taking the exam were Deanne Rentfrow, Nancy Thorman Dahl, Sonya Peterson, Jessica Bunting, Steve Boruff, Annette Langer and Mary Riffe.
In total, the two 2006 testing session have made 12 DCTC students MNLA Certified Professionals.
According to the MNLA, the Certified Professional examination was developed to ‘uphold, improve and promote standards of professionalism and excellence within the industry. By focusing on individuals rather than companies, the program encourages self-improvement among industry professionals.”
This year is not the first time that DCTC has seen this sort of success with the examination. In fact, one in every 10 MNLA Certified Professionals in Minnesota have graduated from DCTC’s Landscape and Horticulture program.
These contributions are part of the reason why DCTC is looking to make some facility improvements for their program. On April 8, DCTC will be hosting the Green Gala at the Rosemount Community Center to raise funds for a new greenhouse facility. This is important to make sure that DCTC students can continue to be on the cutting edge and get the hands-on education that is so essential to the industry.
“We are really proud of the impact that our students have had on the landscape and horticulture industry in Minnesota and we welcome people to learn more about the program we have at DCTC,” said Ed Plaster, DCTC Landscape and Horticulture instructor.
For more information on the Green Gala or the Landscape and Horticulture program, please visit us at www.dctc.edu or call Janet at 651-423-8249.
