WORLD FLOWER COUNCIL CANADIAN CHAPTER

     Robyn Thomas

The yearlong Floral Design course at Seneca College is fast drawing to a close for this yea. With only one more month to the end of term it is hard to imagine how we are going to fit everything in. of course we always do and this year’s student body will certainly rise to the occasion.

It has been an extremely driven and enthusiastic class this year, one that we have not seen for a while. It is a very nice mix of young women (all female this year) from across Canada with several “foreign” students mostly from South Korea to add an experience for all. There have been many friendships forged that will last a lifetime despite language and distance.

Most of the students wherever they are from are planning to take their new found skills home with them, a few will remain in school for another year or two for other courses in related disciplines like Visual Merchandising or Special Events Management. Some plan to exchange their student visas for work permits with the objective of eventually gaining citizenship to remain in Canada.

But for the moment the focus is on finishing the term, completing class projects, studying for final exams, and preparing their designs for the big Year End Show. And of course finding a job and attending interviews.

Last week we all took a breather from all the madness for a few hours for the annual student competition followed by the Awards Ceremony. The students receive recognition not only for their skills at the competition but for their yearlong efforts in design, botany, academics and leadership.

The World Flower Council generously supports an award for a student who best exemplifies the WFC ideals. They are asked to express their vision of their floral future with those ideals in mind. I have enclosed the winning entry from Robyn Thomas. Robyn is an exceptional young woman from a small town in north western Ontario who is both talented in design and extremely smart (she also won the botany award), a rare mix.

Not surprisingly, she has a job waiting for her as soon as she has finished school and it is a pleasure to think that that kind of talent will be available in small rural areas, where it is so desperately needed, and not just confined to the big cities.

Patricia Patrick AiFD, CAFA