KINGSTON, R.I. – July 15, 2024 – Maria Potvin, who graduated this spring from the University of Rhode Island with a double-major in landscape architecture and sustainable agriculture and food, has been recognized by the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s 2024 Olmsted Scholars Program.
In its 17th year, the Olmsted Scholars Program honors undergraduate and graduate students who advance sustainable design and foster human and societal benefits through ideas, influence, communication, service, and leadership. Potvin was among 94 students from accredited landscape architecture programs in the U.S. and Canada to earn the honor.
“The fact that she has achieved so much in four years – at the top of her class – speaks to the breadth of her studies as well as her focused determination,” said Jane Buxton, director of the landscape architecture program, in nominating Potvin for the Olmsted award. “She is clearly knowledgeable and passionate about her studies; she has an excellent work ethic and a unique vision for design.”
“I’m still not sure how I received this award,” said Potvin, who lives in Stamford, Vermont. “So many people in my class worked just as hard with work that far outshone mine. I am very grateful and honored to have been chosen.”
If things had turned out differently, Potvin could be teaching chemistry in a classroom or working in a lab right now. But after a year of college chemistry – and good grades – she couldn’t envision herself being happy in a lab or classroom.
So after her first year, she decided to take a year off from school. “I told my parents in the summer and they kind of freaked out,” she says. “I told them ‘I’ll be fine; I’ll just work.’”
That summer she found a job landscaping at a company where her brother worked. “During my first summer off, I started working landscaping, doing garden maintenance, and I absolutely fell in love with the work,” she says.
That summer turned into two more.
So, she decided to turn it into a career – first attending Vermont Technical College and earning degrees in landscape contracting and forestry, before following the advice of one of her favorite teachers – a URI alumna – and entering URI’s landscape architecture program.
“The URI program gives students a good mix of hands-on and artistic approaches,” says Potvin. “Some programs are very artistic or very hands-on heavy. I feel URI’s program was definitely a good mix of everything.”
Two of her favorite classes occurred in her senior year – the senior design studio and a course on planting design, which developed and installed designs for several community groups. “Maria is a bright star who will prove capable of responding to the many challenges that face humanity at this time,” said adjunct professor Catherine Weaver, who had Potvin in the planting design program. “She is a leader to watch closely because of her dedication and commitment to making her community a better place to live.”
In the senior design studio, students designed a plan to help improve public access to the water along Providence’s Public Street, which extends toward the Providence River. Potvin’s group worked on waterfront access, designing a plan for a salt marsh park that would mitigate flooding. A large part of the class involved developing community outreach events to get the public’s opinions on what they would like to see. The project helped bring home the importance of including the public at all levels of the design process, she said.
Some of her other highlights at URI center on the community and the people she met in her four years in Kingston.
“I formed so many tight friendships and relationships that I’m sure will last for many years,” says Potvin, who also served as treasurer and vice president of URI’s chapter of the Rhode Island American Society of Landscape Architecture. “Being a small program, everyone was very close and if you needed help or advice, there were so many people there for you.”
This summer, Potvin is back at landscaping. But she looks forward to pursuing a career in the landscape architecture industry.
“I like the creative side of landscape architecture,” she says. “It’s an artform where you are able to transform the world around you and create a space that people can enjoy. I like changing things for the better so they’re not only beautiful but also serve a better purpose.”