Cuyahoga Community College
Cuyahoga Community CollegeCuyahoga Community College
  • Getting Started
  • Paying for College
  • Classes, Programs & Certificates
  • Student Resources
  • Community
  • Alumni
  • Give
  • my Tri-C space
  • Workforce Training
  • Community Education
  • Corporate College
  • News & Events
  • About Tri-C
  • Tri-C Home
  • »
  • About
  • »
  • Blog
  • »
  • 2017
  • »
  • December
  • »
  • Nikki Barrett grad blog

Air Force veteran Nikki Barrett begins a landscaping career at Tri-C

December 15, 2017

Nikki BarrettNikki Barrett spent the past eight years tending to a community garden in her Cuyahoga Falls neighborhood, adding a dash of color to the corner of Curtis Avenue and Anderson Road.

Look for her work to become more widespread in the future, following her studies at Cuyahoga Community College.

The 49-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran will graduate this month with a certificate in landscape contracting through the College’s Plant Science and Landscape Technology program. Consider it a stepping-stone on a new career path.

“I always loved gardening,” Barrett said, “but Tri-C showed me how to turn that into a career.”

She enrolled at the College in 2016 after spending years at home raising her two sons, Jack (15) and Joseph (13). Barrett said she immediately found a family atmosphere within the program at Eastern Campus.

Within a year, she became part of the team representing Tri-C at the National Collegiate Landscape Competition. The annual competition attracts the top horticulture and landscape schools in the country.

Barrett helped Tri-C place first among community colleges and fifth overall at the 2017 competition, held in March at Brigham Young University in Utah.

“We have a nationally recognized program,” she said. “I don’t think people realize what’s here.”

Barrett will compete again in 2018 as she continue her studies at the College this spring, with classes such as soil technology and arboriculture. She is working toward an Associate of Applied Science degree to go along with her certificate.

Her long-term goal is to work in Northeast Ohio’s booming greenhouse industry.

 “Tri-C has provided me an opportunity to pursue a career I really like,” Barrett said. “There are many, many opportunities in this field. I know there are good jobs out there that I’m going to be prepared to take.”

Ask TRI-C

Welcome to Cuyahoga Community College's online knowledge base of frequently asked questions and answers.

Visit Ask Tri-C

Live Chat

Welcome to the Online Service Center @ Cuyahoga Community College! Live Chat provides users with general information about the enrollment processes at Tri-C

Chat Now

Contact Us

Tri-C
216-987-6000
Corporate College
216-987-2800
Phone Directory Tri-C 24/7 Ask Us a Question

Campuses & Locations

Parking Visit Tri-C Request More Information

Connect With Us

  • Like Us On Facebook
  • Follow Us On Twitter
  • Connected With Us On LinkedIn
  • Follow Us On Instagram
  • Subscribe to Us On Youtube
my TRI-C space Blackboard Employment Accreditation

© 2014 Cuyahoga Community College 700 Carnegie Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115Privacy PolicyAdministrative DepartmentsCampus Police