Landscape Forms Celebrates Its 2023 Landscape Architecture Foundation Scholarship Winners
Kalamazoo, MI – July 24, 2023 – Landscape Forms,
North America’s leading designer and manufacturer of high-design site
furniture, structure, LED lighting and accessories, is proud to congratulate
Cheryl Zeng, Jakobi Johnson, and Tairiq Mansfield, the 2023 scholarship
recipients from the Landscape Forms' and Landscape Architecture Foundation’s
annual scholarship program.Since 2007, Landscape Forms has partnered with
the Landscape Architecture Foundation to offer annual scholarships for
distinguished undergraduate landscape architecture students. Landscape Forms
believes in the positive impact landscape architects can have on the
environment and society’s connection to it and sees the scholarship program as
an invaluable opportunity to support, celebrate, and elevate the rising leaders
in their industry. Through its annual scholarships, Landscape Forms seeks to
open new opportunities to increase the capacity and influence of the next
generation of landscape architects in order to create a more just, inclusive,
creative, and sustainable future for the profession.
Cheryl Zeng, this year’s recipient of the 16th
annual Landscape Forms Scholarship in Memory of Peter Schaudt, FASLA, is a
third-year landscape architecture student at Cornell University who found a
calling in landscape architecture’s combination of art and science. “I spent my
first two years studying civil engineering, finished the whole engineering
core, and was working a civil engineering internship when I had the realization
that this wasn’t the fit for me. Then I found out about landscape
architecture,” describes Cheryl. “After moving from Houston to Ithaca, with its
beautiful gorges and waterfalls, I felt like I had finally found my
appreciation for nature. I experienced how being in beautiful natural
landscapes touches people’s lives, helps us become happier and healthier, and
connects people together in a unique way. And I became really inspired by using
landscape architecture to bring these experiences to cities, address the
inequitable distribution of green space, and share the beauty that I found in
the natural world."
Jakobi Johnson, one of two co-recipients of
this year’s Landscape Forms Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Scholarship, is a
second-year landscape architecture student at Michigan State University whose
interests span the design fields of historical preservation and restoration,
plaza design, and parks and recreation. "I'm originally from Detroit, so
I’m especially interested in combining my design passions in ways that can
positively influence Detroit’s youth,” says Jakobi. “More meaningful landscapes
add vibrance to communities, and especially in urban neighborhoods with greater
blight and adversity. Access to sustainable, resilient landscapes can have a
really positive impact on livelihood and wellbeing. I want to use design to
help revitalize communities, improve economic mobility, and promote diverse
racial integration, while also promoting ecological health and environmental
justice."
Tairiq Mansfield, also a co-recipient of this
year’s Landscape Forms Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Scholarship, is a
landscape architecture, sustainability, and architecture student at Clemson
University whose appreciation for design, creative thinking, and community
sparked a passion for landscape architecture. "What I found in studying
landscape architecture were the types of personal connections and a sense of
community that I didn’t find when I was studying engineering. Combined with my
passions for designing and building things with my hands, I’m happy that I made
the tough decision to switch majors,” says Tariq. “I think especially in
today’s world, people need better connections with who they really are and
where they’re really from. Through landscape architecture, I want to create
spaces that connect people to nature and community and expand the positive
impact that these connections had in my life."
“I would like to personally congratulate
Cheryl, Jakobi, and Tairiq as this year’s Landscape Forms and Landscape
Architecture Foundation scholarship winners,” says Landscape Forms’ Chief
Executive Officer, Margie Simmons. “Hearing from these outstanding landscape
architecture students and getting to know their stories, passions, interests,
and aspirations is an inspiring look into those who will be fueling innovation
and driving positive change in our industry. It’s a testament to our belief in
the transformative power of education, and why our scholarship program is such
a cornerstone of our organization.”
About Landscape Forms
Landscape
Forms is the industry leader in
integrated collections of high-design site furniture, structures, accessories,
and advanced LED lighting. Since its founding in 1969 Landscape Forms has
earned a reputation for excellent design, high quality products and exceptional
service. The company is headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and our family of
brands includes Loll Designs in Duluth, Minnesota; Summit Furniture in
Monterey, California; and Kornegay Design located in Phoenix, Arizona. It has sales representatives
throughout North America, South America, the United Kingdom, Australia, the
United Arab Emirates and Asia. Landscape Forms collaborates
with renowned industrial designers and consultancies, landscape architects, and
architects to design and develop integrated collections of products that
address emerging needs and help create a sense of place. Additionally, the
company has formed global marketing partnerships with select companies that
share its commitment to design. Landscape Forms has an
installed base of products around the world. Clients include municipalities,
transit centers, corporate, college and health care campuses; and familiar
brand leaders such as Harvard University, Linked In, New York Central Park
Conservancy, Bryant Park, Google, Coca Cola, Oculus, U.S. Tennis Association
(USTA), Nike, National Museum of African American History (Washington, D.C.),
Barclays Center, Adidas, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Microsoft, and
Uber. We’ve been named one of the Best Workplaces in Manufacturing &
Production for 2020, 2021 and 2022 by Fortune magazine, Michigan Manufacturer
of the Year for 2020 by the Michigan Manufacturers Association, and by 269
Magazine as one of Southwest Michigan’s Wonderful Workplaces.
About
the Landscape Forms Scholarship in Memory of Peter Lindsay Schaudt, FASLA:
The
Landscape Forms Scholarship in Memory of Peter Lindsay Schaudt, FASLA
celebrates the 30-year career of a leader and visionary in landscape
architecture. Peter was one of the founding principals of the award-winning
firm, Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architecture in Chicago, Illinois, and a
dedicated member of the Board of Directors for Landscape Forms. Peter
was widely admired for his incredible talent, dedication, generosity, and
integrity. This scholarship is open to landscape architecture students in their
final two years of full-time undergraduate study in a LAAB- or LAAC-accredited
program in the U.S. or Canada and is awarded on the basis of academic
accomplishment and creative design ability. Applicants must demonstrate
passion, commitment, and competence in creating artfully-designed places for
people. Recent winners of this scholarship also include Christian Moore from
Ohio State University in 2018, Guadalupe Rodriguez from Cal Poly Pomona in
2019, Claire Jarvis from the University of Georgia in 2020, Jordan Chiang from
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2021, and Najla Said Lopez from the University of
Florida in 2022.
About
the Landscape Forms Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Scholarship:
Celebrating
its inaugural year in 2021, the Landscape Forms Diversity, Equity, and
Inclusion Scholarship reflects Landscape Forms' aim to help create a
society where social justice and racial diversity are the norm. Landscape
Forms believes the best workplaces embrace individuality where any person
can feel a strong sense of belonging—they aspire to that reality for their own
workplace and are committed to help spread this mindset across the whole of
landscape architecture professions. This scholarship was established as a small
but meaningful step toward achieving that vision of a just and diverse
community in their industry, helping Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
(BIPOC) students advance in their education and career in landscape
architecture. The Landscape Forms Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Scholarship is open to undergraduate landscape architecture students who
identify as BIPOC and are currently enrolled in a LAAB- or LAAC-accredited
program in the US or Canada. Candidates must demonstrate financial need,
academic aptitude, and commitment to the discipline of landscape architecture.
The inaugural winner of this scholarship was Diamond Owens from the University
of Georgia in 2021, and 2022’s recipients include Adriel Jimenez from the
University of Florida and Victor Cizik from the University of Connecticut.
About
the Landscape Architecture Foundation:
For more than 50 years, LAF has been
identifying priorities and strengthening the discipline to meet weighty
environmental, social, and economic challenges. They believe in the power of
design to create a healthier, more equitable, and sustainable world. With
$180,000 available annually, LAF is a leading source of scholarships for
landscape architecture students. These awards recognize leadership, reward
superior student performance, support access and diversity, and assist students
with unmet financial need.