Blooming into opportunity
UC horticulture alum lands prestigious apprenticeship
Recent University of Cincinnati grad Trinity Tobe learns by doing: By getting her hands dirty, being outside and actually cultivating the flowers she studies.
This fall, Tobe will venture across the pond to Great Dixter, an internationally renowned garden in East Sussex, England, working as the apprentice of the lead groundskeeper.
Tobe said she earned the prestigious opportunity because of her hands-on experience at UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP).
Tobe earned her degree and three horticultural certificates while at DAAP.
“It was awesome. I didn’t know that studying horticulture was a thing at all before coming here,” she said. “Coming to UC has made me more well-rounded horticulturist and provided me professional experiences I would not have without pursuing this degree.”
Tobe was a transfer student who came to UC to study plants after falling in love with her job at a local greenhouse. But when she started working toward her degree, the academic approach of the classroom intimidated her.
“Truthfully, I was going to drop out,” Tobe said. “I got to college and everyone was speaking Latin and saying names I didn't know. And I thought, ‘Nope, not for me.’”
But one of her professors, Jim Hansel, encouraged her to stick with it. “He told me to stay for a few more weeks and see if I changed my mind,” Tobe said. “He said he had a feeling I was meant to be here.”
Tobe spent a year working at Chanticleer Garden in Pennsylvania between classes.
Hansel’s intuition was right: Tobe grew into the program and took full advantage of its opportunities before landing her upcoming UK apprenticeship. She carved out her own co-op within the program before it was even a requirement of her major.
“Trinity’s work ethic, curious mind and willingness to dive into new challenges has set her up for success,” said Hansel. “She shares her love of horticulture with anyone who will listen and can back up knowledge with experience.”
Cultivating her own path
Hands-on experience puts the classroom into practice, and the DAAP School of Planning’s horticulture program is officially integrating cooperative education next academic year.
UC is the birthplace of co-op, a system of alternating classwork with semesters working in the industry, with students gaining invaluable real-world experience. What started as a requirement of the engineering program has expanded across the university over the past century.
UC co-op program: Frequently Asked Questions
What is co-op at the University of Cincinnati?
UC defines cooperative education, or co-op, as meaningful, career-oriented, compensated workplace experiences. Co-op is a structured program where students complete academic coursework and get a paid job in their field of study, graduating with both a degree and real-world professional experience.
Find more info: What is co-op in college? How cooperative education works
Are UC co-op positions paid?
Many UC co‑ops are paid, full‑time roles. Students often use co‑op earnings to help cover tuition and living expenses, which can reduce the need for loans and improve the overall return on investment of their degree.
Learn more: How cooperative education and paid experience change the ROI equation
Which majors offer co-op, and where do UC students work?
Co‑op is deeply integrated into programs in engineering, design, information technology, business, arts, sciences and more, with support from the College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies. UC is committed to offering all students career-building, real-world experiences related to their field.
UC students co‑op in Cincinnati, across Ohio, throughout the U.S. and abroad with employers ranging from startups, design studios and nonprofits to hospitals, government agencies and Fortune 500 companies.
How does co-op help UC students after graduation?
By graduation, many Bearcats have up to 1.5 years of career‑related experience, strong resumes and professional networks. A significant number receive full‑time job offers from their co‑op employers, which is why the University of Cincinnati is widely recognized as the global founder of cooperative education and a national leader in co‑ops and internships.
“Launching co-op is going to be really great for our program,” explained horticulture professor Brian Grubb. “What we’ve done up to this point, before we formally launched co-op, is we just really highly encouraged our students to take their summer experience to do internships.”
A hands-on approach led Tobe to her upcoming opportunity abroad.
Tobe did that and more. She served multiple internships with Northern Kentucky’s Boone County Arboretum and ended up working there part-time while in school.
She took an entire academic year off to work at Chanticleer Garden in Philadelphia.
“It was such an amazing opportunity that I almost didn’t want to go back to school, but it’s funny because I got there because of school,” Tobe said. “When I went back to UC to finish my degree, I was able to digest what I was learning so much more and talk to my professors about plants on such a deeper scope.”
Her work with Chanticleer introduced her to the Chanticleer USA Christopher Lloyd Scholarship at Great Dixter, a yearlong experience working under late garden writer Christopher Lloyd’s protégé, Fergus Garrett.
“I found out I got the position the day before I graduated college,” Tobe said. “I was required to read Lloyd’s books in school. It was a very serendipitous moment.”
Remembering her roots
Tobe’s experiences may bring her across the country and around the world, but her goal is to bring all her expertise back home one day.
“Tobe really was the model of what we like to see with our students,” said professor Grubb. “She was attentive in class, asking lots of questions and trying to gain as much practical experience as she could.”
It's never a dull day out in the gardens.
Tobe’s capstone, which won a Director’s Choice award at DAAPWorks, was to redesign the Boone County Arboretum’s Children's Garden.
“What we’re trying to do is get students out into the community during school so that they can find needs within the community,” Grubb said. “Tobe was able to do that through her capstone, and I think she had some meaningful experiences doing that.”
After her apprenticeship, Tobe plans to bring her expertise back home.
The actual design is on hold due to highway construction, but even with her upcoming opportunity abroad, Tobe’s goal has always been to make a positive impact in the Greater Cincinnati community.
“It’s really easy as a gardener to pick up and move to Philadelphia, the UK or anywhere else with amazing gardening opportunities,” Tobe said. “But I think it’s a better testament to be able to bring it back to Ohio. We just don’t have public horticulture on the scale that these other places do.”
Tobe reasoned that she will feel fulfilled bringing her experience back home, spreading the seeds of her learning, so to speak.
“To just up and leave forever, it’s not fair to everyone in Ohio that deserve great public gardens, too.”
Your career is next
Through one of the nation’s most robust co-op programs, UC students don’t just learn about their future — they live it, alternating classroom study with real, career-shaping experience in industries around the world.
Students: Earn while you learn at UC.
Employers: Find your next hire.
Featured image at top of Tobe working in a garden. All photos provided by Trinity Tobe.
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