FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Lesley Smith, a senior in horticulture in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, was recognized as an Arkansas Flower and Garden Show scholarship recipient in February.

Smith, who is from Alpena, received the $1,500 scholarship in the fall and was recognized at the organization's three-day meeting at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.

“I greatly appreciate receiving one of the Arkansas Flower and Garden Show scholarships,” Smith said. “It is a wonderful organization and it is an honor to be chosen.”

The mission of the organization is to make Arkansas a better place by promoting gardening and beautification, providing educational programs, displays and exhibits on gardening, landscaping and horticulture; supporting the state's next generation of horticulture professionals through the scholarship program; and supporting community beautification through the Greening of Arkansas grant program. 

Smith plans to pursue a master's degree in agricultural extension education and become a county extension agent specializing in horticulture.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.