AIKEN — The Aiken Master Gardeners Association has awarded scholarships to three Aiken County seniors with agricultural-related career paths in their line of sight.
The recipients included Mollie Bartley from Strom Thurmond High School, Lauren Dean from Midland Valley High School and Lily Timmerman from Aiken High School.
Each received $1,000 in scholarship funds on May 12 at St. John’s Methodist Church.
This is the Aiken Master Gardeners Pay as You Go Scholarship for seniors in Aiken and Edgefield counties who plan to study horticulture or closely related agricultural courses at a university of their choice.
This scholarship was founded in 2013. As of May 2026, 30 scholarships have been awarded for a total of $27,500 with scholarship amounts varying from $500 to $2,000.
The Association has also been able to give out $11,500 in scholarship money to Aiken County students studying agriculture at Clemson since 2015.
“Both these AMGA scholarship programs are a major part of our effort to promote learning about agriculture in our local community,” said Jim Pierce, chairman of the board for the Master Gardeners Association.
Bartley said she plans to continue her education at Clemson University where she will study agricultural business.
“I hope to build a career that allows me to make a positive impact on the agriculture industry and also helps my community,” she said. “Agriculture plays such an important role in our community, and I’m excited to be a part of the field that is constantly growing.
“I feel truly blessed and grateful for the opportunity that they want to support young high school students going into their careers and colleges. I think it’s such a blessing to see people support those that are in high school,” she said about the scholarship.
Dean, who has already graduated from Aiken Technical College with an associate’s degree in arts and science through a dual enrollment program, plans to attend Clemson University to study landscape architecture and horticulture.
“It’s very heartwarming because not many people go into a field that’s so specific… it feels very welcoming and very uplifting to know that there are other people within the community that want to help me support my goals and help me get where I want to get with my career,” Dean said about seeing the support of the Master Gardener Association.
Her advice to students with similar aspirations is to get involved in their school’s Future Farmers of America group. “If your school has an FFA, get involved in that and you can find a good group to help you get started,” she said.
Timmerman plans to attend Virginia Tech first to study animal science, then to attend Clemson University to snag a veterinary degree.
“We have a lot of people in this town and for it to feel small, and just for us to come into this room and be supported like that… it’s just insane, and it’s a wonderful time to be able to just sit around each other and support our high school students going into agricultural business because it’s really important. And agriculture is something that’s always going to be around,” said Timmerman.
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