Golden Owls: Three Grads Reflect on Ambler Campus
Students in the Landscape Architecture and Horticulture programs make their way to the Temple Ambler Campus to do some of the most important hands-on learning of their time at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture.
Grace Lenart BS ’24 Horticulture, Chandler Kennedie McLaurin BS ’24 Landscape Architecture, and Frankie Napoli BS ’24 Horticulture all received a Golden Owl Award, which goes to graduating seniors who have displayed outstanding leadership and dedication to the Temple Ambler campus community through their participation in on-campus activities, organizations and community efforts.
The three graduates reflected on their time at the Ambler Campus before their careers blossom.
Grace Lenart began working as a student gardener with the Ambler Arboretum after the tornado hit the campus in September 2021.
“I started in December because I knew that applying what I learned in class would help me absorb the information. I also saw the destruction from the tornado and it made me want to lend a helping hand and see what I could do in the next few years to make a difference,” she said. “That's one of the things that sets Tyler's Horticulture program apart; it's very dynamic. We learn in class then we can go outside on campus and apply what we've learned—I think that is the most amazing thing.”
Lenart was awarded the Ambler Arboretum Jane Bowne Haines Award, given to a graduating Ambler Arboretum student gardener who epitomizes the vision and tradition of Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women founder Jane Bowne Haines—“this student has combined a trained mind with their trained hands and developed the skills to become an accomplished professional in the art and science of horticulture”—as well as a Golden Owl Award.
Chandler McLaurin originally began at Tyler as an Architecture student, and switched to Landscape Architecture after taking her first horticulture class and realizing it was the best fit for her because it combined art and science.
“Our campus is an arboretum—there's really no better place to learn about landscape architecture,” she said. “Hands-on learning as a student, I believe, helps you be able to grasp things a lot quicker. If you're interacting with something, it becomes second nature, and that's really with anything, not just plants. With landscape architecture studios in general, being hands-on, learning how to design, you evolve as a person and a professional.”
McLaurin’s involvement in the Ambler Campus community extended beyond the classroom: she also served as the vice president of the Ambler Campus Student Life Board. She was the recipient of a Golden Owl Award for her leadership role.
Frankie Napoli has always known he wanted to make a career out of his lifelong passion for horticulture, and was initially drawn to Temple because of the Ambler Campus and its facilities.
“I grew up in gardening; it was a huge part of the culture of my neighborhood,” he said. “The resumé that I have has made me incredibly competitive in the job market. Between working as a student gardener in the Ambler Arboretum and studying in classes in general, I've learned so much. I've gotten to have a piece of every pie on campus between research, the Greenhouse and the Arboretum. I'm really leaving with an incredibly well-rounded education and I'm grateful for that.”
Napoli was awarded Outstanding Student Leader of the Year; the Growing Wonder Award, presented by the Ambler Arboretum to an Arboretum Student Gardener “who exhibits curiosity about the art and science of horticulture and the natural world around them and takes the initiative to learn more on their own and share the information they have found with the Arboretum community;” and a Golden Owl Award.