Horticulture Alumna Has Grown Into Big Job

Holly Shimizu can’t remember what she thought she’d be doing 30 years after graduating from Penn State. But after a recent visit to the university, she realized she is doing what she hoped to all along: working with public horticulture.

Shimizu, a native of Philadelphia, is the executive director of the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., where she oversees garden development, finances, volunteer and education outreach, and the design of new garden exhibits. She notes that her favorite part of the job is being creative and turning ideas into reality for the garden, and then seeing how the changes affect visitors. “It doesn’t feel like I am going to work,” she says. “I am the luckiest person.”

Shimizu, who also is a correspondent for the PBS television show, The Victory Garden, says her Penn State education showed her that horticulture is both a science and an art. “Penn State revealed the whole world of horticulture to me,” she adds.

Now a resident of Glen Echo, Md., Shimizu has traveled the world working in botanic gardens in England, Belgium, Germany, and Holland and has studied horticulture at many schools. But Penn State was the best, Shimizu believes. “Penn State opened doors of opportunity and provided a strong foundation for my future in horticulture,” she says.

—Bethany Fehlinger