ASLA Council of Fellows Awards Two Scholarships
Virginia Tech student and University of Arkansas student will each receive $4,000.

Emily L. Rothrock, Student ASLA

Sarah Da Boll Geurtz, Student ASLA

Emily L. Rothrock, Student ASLA, and Sarah DaBoll Geurtz, Student ASLA, have been selected as the ASLA Council of Fellows (CoF) scholarship recipients for 2009.

The ASLA CoF Scholarship program was established to:

• aid students who would not otherwise have an opportunity to continue a professional degree program due to unmet financial need
• increase the interest and participation of economically disadvantaged and under-represented populations in the study of landscape architecture
• enrich the profession of landscape architecture through a more diverse population

Through the generosity of ASLA Fellows, total contributions and pledges have reached $252,000 to date, exceeding the original goal of $250,000 for the endowment. The endowment will eventually fund up to four scholarships annually. The Landscape Architecture Foundation administers the scholarship on behalf of the ASLA CoF.

Rothrock, who will be a fourth-year student in landscape architecture at Virginia Tech, is the student ambassador for the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech, which takes her to high schools and organizations to promote the college and Virginia Tech. She hopes to inspire designs that fit within the urban context and overall ecology of a site and surrounding areas, as well as provide a rejuvenating and comfortable place for the people who live there. The application references describe Rothrock as “a hardworking and personable student who raises the stakes among her classmates and is someone who has fully embraced the discipline of design and the subtleties of landscape architectural education.”

DaBoll Geurtz has previously earned a degree in horticulture and is now focusing her career on landscape architecture. With her new degree, DaBoll Geurtz hopes to be able to combine her knowledge of horticulture with landscape design and open an office with her husband, who is a civil engineer. She anticipates that this future opportunity will allow her to design with environmental awareness and bring a better quality of life to the people of the communities where she and her husband will work.

Described as having great dedication and achievement in her studies, DaBoll Geurtz serves as a faculty-chosen mentor for the freshmen in the School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas and also serves as a member of the Dean’s Student Advisory Board. She continually finds the time to take on new leadership roles that inspire and influence her fellow classmates. This dedication has earned a place for her in the distinguished Honors College.

Both students will attend the ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO in Chicago to receive the $4,000 scholarship certificates at the CoF Business Meeting on Sunday, September 20, at 12:15 PM in the Lakeside Center at McCormick Place.