Scholarships
Sachiko Umehara Scholarship Fund
As owner of Momiji Nursery in Santa Rosa, in partnership with her husband Mike Umehara, Sachiko was a great advocate of the APA and had special relationships with many of its pruners. These pruners received their education through the Aesthetic Pruning program at Merritt College, which Sachiko also attended. She strongly believed that taking the horticulture and aesthetic pruning classes at Merritt were very important to become an aesthetic pruner. A portion of the proceeds from the APA garden tour and personal donations funds the scholarship.
About the Scholarship
The Sachiko Umehara Scholarship Fund is designed to help cover the tuition costs of the academic classes and Aesthetic Pruning series classes offered through the Merritt College Landscape Horticulture Department. Tuition waiver options may be available to those with financial need.* The Fund is managed by the Peralta Colleges Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
This scholarship in the amount of $500.00 is awarded to any student who wishes to get a horticulture education and take the Aesthetic Pruning series of classes offered at Merritt College. Apply online through the Peralta Colleges Foundation. Students cannot apply directly for the Sachiko Umehara Scholarship. The Peralta Colleges Foundation system matches all scholarships in their database for which the applicant is eligible. The applicant must demonstrate a stated need and an educational commitment to learn the craft of aesthetic pruning.
The scholarship awardee will be announced at the Annual APA Business meeting in January. Conditions of accepting the scholarship are a commitment to completing the classes required for the Aesthetic Pruning Award.**
*Merritt College is a California Community College and qualifying students may be eligible for Federal Financial Aid and/or the Board of Governors tuition fee waiver (BOG waiver).
**For more information regarding classes and schedules, contact Nia Hill at the Merritt College Horticulture Department.