Landscape Forms, North America’s leading designer and manufacturer of high-design site furniture, structure, LED lighting and accessories, is proud to congratulate Cheryl Zeng, Jakobi Johnson, and Tairiq Mansfield, the 2023 scholarship recipients from the Landscape Forms' and Landscape Architecture Foundation’s annual scholarship program.

Since 2007, Landscape Forms has partnered with the Landscape Architecture Foundation to offer annual scholarships for distinguished undergraduate landscape architecture students. Landscape Forms believes in the positive impact landscape architects can have on the environment and society’s connection to it and sees the scholarship program as an invaluable opportunity to support, celebrate, and elevate the rising leaders in their industry. Through its annual scholarships, Landscape Forms seeks to open new opportunities to increase the capacity and influence of the next generation of landscape architects in order to create a more just, inclusive, creative, and sustainable future for the profession.

Cheryl Zeng, this year’s recipient of the 16th annual Landscape Forms Scholarship in Memory of Peter Schaudt, FASLA, is a third-year landscape architecture student at Cornell University who found a calling in landscape architecture’s combination of art and science. “I spent my first two years studying civil engineering, finished the whole engineering core, and was working a civil engineering internship when I had the realization that this wasn’t the fit for me. Then I found out about landscape architecture,” describes Cheryl. “After moving from Houston to Ithaca, with its beautiful gorges and waterfalls, I felt like I had finally found my appreciation for nature. I experienced how being in beautiful natural landscapes touches people’s lives, helps us become happier and healthier, and connects people together in a unique way. And I became really inspired by using landscape architecture to bring these experiences to cities, address the inequitable distribution of green space, and share the beauty that I found in the natural world."

Jakobi Johnson, one of two co-recipients of this year’s Landscape Forms Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Scholarship, is a second-year landscape architecture student at Michigan State University whose interests span the design fields of historical preservation and restoration, plaza design, and parks and recreation. "I'm originally from Detroit, so I’m especially interested in combining my design passions in ways that can positively influence Detroit’s youth,” says Jakobi. “More meaningful landscapes add vibrance to communities, and especially in urban neighborhoods with greater blight and adversity. Access to sustainable, resilient landscapes can have a really positive impact on livelihood and wellbeing. I want to use design to help revitalize communities, improve economic mobility, and promote diverse racial integration, while also promoting ecological health and environmental justice."

Tairiq Mansfield, also a co-recipient of this year’s Landscape Forms Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Scholarship, is a landscape architecture, sustainability, and architecture student at Clemson University whose appreciation for design, creative thinking, and community sparked a passion for landscape architecture. "What I found in studying landscape architecture were the types of personal connections and a sense of community that I didn’t find when I was studying engineering. Combined with my passions for designing and building things with my hands, I’m happy that I made the tough decision to switch majors,” says Tariq. “I think especially in today’s world, people need better connections with who they really are and where they’re really from. Through landscape architecture, I want to create spaces that connect people to nature and community and expand the positive impact that these connections had in my life."

“I would like to personally congratulate Cheryl, Jakobi, and Tairiq as this year’s Landscape Forms and Landscape Architecture Foundation scholarship winners,” says Landscape Forms’ Chief Executive Officer, Margie Simmons. “Hearing from these outstanding landscape architecture students and getting to know their stories, passions, interests, and aspirations is an inspiring look into those who will be fueling innovation and driving positive change in our industry. It’s a testament to our belief in the transformative power of education, and why our scholarship program is such a cornerstone of our organization.”

About Landscape Forms

Landscape Forms is the industry leader in integrated collections of high-design site furniture, structures, accessories, and advanced LED lighting. Since its founding in 1969 Landscape Forms has earned a reputation for excellent design, high quality products and exceptional service. The company is headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and our family of brands includes Loll Designs in Duluth, Minnesota; Summit Furniture in Monterey, California; and Kornegay Design located in Phoenix, Arizona.  It has sales representatives throughout North America, South America, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Asia. Landscape Forms collaborates with renowned industrial designers and consultancies, landscape architects, and architects to design and develop integrated collections of products that address emerging needs and help create a sense of place. Additionally, the company has formed global marketing partnerships with select companies that share its commitment to design. Landscape Forms has an installed base of products around the world. Clients include municipalities, transit centers, corporate, college and health care campuses; and familiar brand leaders such as Harvard University, Linked In, New York Central Park Conservancy, Bryant Park, Google, Coca Cola, Oculus, U.S. Tennis Association (USTA), Nike, National Museum of African American History (Washington, D.C.), Barclays Center, Adidas, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Microsoft, and Uber. We’ve been named one of the Best Workplaces in Manufacturing & Production for 2020, 2021 and 2022 by Fortune magazine, Michigan Manufacturer of the Year for 2020 by the Michigan Manufacturers Association, and by 269 Magazine as one of Southwest Michigan’s Wonderful Workplaces.

 About the Landscape Forms Scholarship in Memory of Peter Lindsay Schaudt, FASLA:

The Landscape Forms Scholarship in Memory of Peter Lindsay Schaudt, FASLA celebrates the 30-year career of a leader and visionary in landscape architecture. Peter was one of the founding principals of the award-winning firm, Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architecture in Chicago, Illinois, and a dedicated member of the Board of Directors for Landscape Forms. Peter was widely admired for his incredible talent, dedication, generosity, and integrity. This scholarship is open to landscape architecture students in their final two years of full-time undergraduate study in a LAAB- or LAAC-accredited program in the U.S. or Canada and is awarded on the basis of academic accomplishment and creative design ability. Applicants must demonstrate passion, commitment, and competence in creating artfully-designed places for people. Recent winners of this scholarship also include Christian Moore from Ohio State University in 2018, Guadalupe Rodriguez from Cal Poly Pomona in 2019, Claire Jarvis from the University of Georgia in 2020, Jordan Chiang from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2021, and Najla Said Lopez from the University of Florida in 2022.

 About the Landscape Forms Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Scholarship:

Celebrating its inaugural year in 2021, the Landscape Forms Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Scholarship reflects Landscape Forms' aim to help create a society where social justice and racial diversity are the norm. Landscape Forms believes the best workplaces embrace individuality where any person can feel a strong sense of belonging—they aspire to that reality for their own workplace and are committed to help spread this mindset across the whole of landscape architecture professions. This scholarship was established as a small but meaningful step toward achieving that vision of a just and diverse community in their industry, helping Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students advance in their education and career in landscape architecture. The Landscape Forms Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Scholarship is open to undergraduate landscape architecture students who identify as BIPOC and are currently enrolled in a LAAB- or LAAC-accredited program in the US or Canada. Candidates must demonstrate financial need, academic aptitude, and commitment to the discipline of landscape architecture. The inaugural winner of this scholarship was Diamond Owens from the University of Georgia in 2021, and 2022’s recipients include Adriel Jimenez from the University of Florida and Victor Cizik from the University of Connecticut.

 About the Landscape Architecture Foundation:

For more than 50 years, LAF has been identifying priorities and strengthening the discipline to meet weighty environmental, social, and economic challenges. They believe in the power of design to create a healthier, more equitable, and sustainable world. With $180,000 available annually, LAF is a leading source of scholarships for landscape architecture students. These awards recognize leadership, reward superior student performance, support access and diversity, and assist students with unmet financial need.