Mikhail Kidd has been awarded the one-year Dr. Henry W. Indyk Scholarship, which is administered by The Lawn Institute (TLI). He is the son of James and Katy Kidd. James Kidd is a partowner of Cloverdale Nursery in Boise, Idaho. Mikhail is a student at Utah State University, Logan, Utah, where he is at the mid-point in his five-year field of study in Residential Landscape Design and Construction. Mikhail, and his wife, Sydney, were married in August of 2019. She is studying journalism at Utah State University.

In the career goals essay in his scholarship application, Mikhail wrote, “A career in turfgrass management has always been my goal ever since I started working as a freshman in high school. I started working at Cloverdale Nursery & Turf Farm, which is the biggest supplier of sod based out of Idaho. I worked as a general laborer at their nursery. I was drawn to the portion of the business that grew and distributed sod, and the next summer I started my own business (K2 Landscape) which focused on commercial and residential sod installation. I worked as a subcontractor for Cloverdale Nursery, and enjoyed laying sod every summer until I graduated.”

During those high school years, Mikhail was a four-time state champion in track, serving as team captain for two years, and was an all-state cornerback his senior year. He was also class president for two years, student body vice president his junior year, and student body president his senior year.

After high school graduation, Mikhail served two years as a missionary in the country of Paraguay. He said, “It was a great service opportunity, teaching about God and Jesus and seeing people find hope in their lives. I also learned Spanish among many other valuable lessons and perspectives.”

When he returned home in 2017, Mikhail resumed working at Cloverdale Nursery but this time at their turf farm. He wrote, “I started learning the various trades of a turf farm, and really enjoyed my work. I learned how to operate the sod harvesters we used, the process of irrigating the sod, loading the sod onto semi-trucks, and mowing the sod with industrial-sized mowers. Every summer I have returned to the sod farm and have continued learning and gaining experience. I hope to one day achieve a management position at a sod farm, so I can continue doing this work that I have grown to enjoy.” He has been able to use the Spanish he learned as a missionary to better communicate with those employees for whom Spanish is their first language.

In her letter of recommendation, Cristin Cook, procurement manager for Cloverdale Nursery, wrote, “I have known of Mikhail Kidd his entire life. He is a very good man with great values.” And, “Although I didn’t work directly with him, I heard of his excellent work ethic from numerous employees that he worked with.”

Mikhail noted that many of his achievements are tied to lessons he learned working in the turfgrass industry. He wrote, “Though I have seen athletic success in my life, it has been far from easy. In high school I experienced two different season ending injuries that I had to overcome and push through. During my first year of college, I tried walking-on to the track team and ended up getting cut. I kept training on my own, and the next year, my run times secured my spot on the roster.”

He added, “My work in the turfgrass industry helped me overcome these challenges and achieve success through struggle. The work isn’t always easy, especially stacking sod for hours during hot summer months, or moving sprinkler pipe with soaked boots. Doing this work taught me that enduring hard things for a short time can help you achieve great things in the long run.”

Mikhail said, “Working with turfgrass has also taught me to take pride in doing high quality work, whether as a missionary, a student, an athlete, or in my job. These lessons will continue to help me in future aspects of my life.” Strike while.

Article originally published May/June 2020 Turf News