#student spotlight

This seemed like the best method to replicate how they’re usually chosen for pink and blue

nakamura sora !!!

This may be an unpopular opinion but as much as I LOVE Wada and cater to his every needs and want him to survive Tetro more than anyone 🥺🥺🥺, I don’t feel the need to have him have a Student Spotlight. I just feel like we know a BUNCH about him already and while it may be interesting to get his perspective on things, there plenty more characters that we don’t know about as much :o

With that in mind, the people like are Ojima, Mai and Yanagi knowing Hiroaki and Ken had theirs. We could try for Ojima again 🤔 And if he does show up this time then great :3 But also, I feel like his actual appearance takes away the chance for us to get to know one of the others. Which aren’t many options as its just Hayashi and Shigeki, excluding Wada.

We know a fair amount about each one too :0 A big portion of Yanagi’s story being in [Yanagi on Thin Ice] and Mai’s in [Bruise]. They’ve both had pretty tragic lives of abuse and mistreatment 💔 So maybe neither of them need a Student Spotlight? But idk, I feel like I would need the opinions of others to choose properly-

This week, our Student Spotlight Blogger, Sephora, profiles a freshman painting major, Matthew. Matthew not only shares his beautiful artwork, but he also shares a few fun, interesting facts about himself! Read to see his artwork and learn more about him.

Hello dear readers, Sephora here! October has passed so quickly but I can’t wait to experience November as it is my birthday month! I’m feeling great and I hope you all feel blessed during this month of gratitude! Now to the content! Today I am excited to introduce someone who deserves to be hyped up into infinity. He is extremely talented and I adore his artwork as he is wonderful at drawing…

My name is Toyotaka Mizuno, but call me Taka! I’m a TRIAD fellow from Japan. The TRIAD fellowship is a study exchange program that lasts 1 year, during which I will study and work in 3 countries and spend 4 months in each of them. Those countries are U.S., U.K. and Japan. I just finished up my time here at Longwood Gardens on April 13 and graduated form the TRIAD program this week!

Before joining the TRIAD fellowship, I graduated from university and worked at my family nursery for 10 years.

What is your favorite plant?

My favorite plant is Rohdea japonica (pictured above). My family nursery has grown only this plant, Rohdea japonica, for 130 years. That is 4 generations of growing! There are over 1000 varieties. I even wrote a published book about the plant.

The book that I wrote about Rohdea japonica.

What is your favorite Garden?

I have two: Byodoin Hououdo 平等院鳳凰堂 in Kyoto, Japan and Bodnant Garden in Wales, UK. I also love the Kiseki no Hoshi Botanical museum in Awaji island, Japan. My favorite part at Longwood, though, is definitely the Main Fountain Garden.

Byodoin Hououdo

Bodnant Garden

What is the best part of being a student?

The best part about being a student is having the time to see and experience real Longwood propagation in the greenhouse. It has made me re-think my experiences growing Rohdea japonica from a new perspective.

What is your background in horticulture (or whatever field you are in)?

I graduated from the University of Kyoto, where I studied genetics about symbiosis between plants and fungi at a laboratory. After that, I worked at my family nursery to grow, sell, educate, and write articles about Rohdea japonica for 10 years. I wanted to join the Triad Fellowship and come to Longwood because of its significant designs and innovation.

What do you do at work? Highlight your favorite project or what you do day-to-day.

I roatetd to different departments, growing plants in the greenhouses and then delivering them to be used in Longwood’s displays. One of my favorite projects was helping to create the Hydrangea orbs that hung in the Acacia Passage this spring.

Making Hydrangea orbs with one of the volunteers.

What are your future plans or what is your intended career path?