Tressa Cummings

Degree: Master of Landscape Architecture

Expected Graduation Date: Spring 2024

Prior Degrees
BA in Studio Art; BA in History, Graceland University, Lamoni, IA

2023 Scholarship
Lynn Mathews Memorial Scholarship

I Am Originally From Sacramento, CA

WHY I CAME TO THE UO AND HOW I CHOSE MY MAJOR
I chose the University of Oregon because of the rich ecology of the Willamette Valley that will begin to look more like my hometown in the Sacramento Valley as our climate continues to change. Within the College of Design I have found a community of supportive peers and faculty who bring a wide variety of previous professional and life experience to the table.

I chose to pursue a Master of Landscape Architecture because it provides an entry point into a wide variety of fields addressing some of our most pressing ecological and social problems.

UNIQUE QUALITIES I BRING TO MY STUDIES
Since I was a young child, dance has been a part of my life. While I first saw this as an outlier from the rest of my academic pursuits, I have found that the spatial sensibilities I learned in dance class and on stage have translated into my sensibilities as a landscape designer. Movement, rhythm, and flow are all unconsciously a part of what informs my landscape designs.

MY INFLUENTIAL PROFESSORS
Arica Duhrkoop-Galas has been a particularly influential professor for me. As a practicing landscape architect, she brings a wealth of hands-on, practical knowledge to the classroom that has helped ground me in the field. Additionally, I have found a deep love of plants through her plants class which teaches both identification and ecology. By learning how plants interact with each other and the surrounding conditions, I feel I have been given a key to understanding the landscapes around me.

MY EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
I am currently serving as Vice President of UO’s American Society of Landscape Architects student chapter.

MY GREATEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE AT UO
My greatest learning experience so far has been taking a full years of Plants class where we revisited plants throughout the year, learning their varied seasonal expressions.

AFTER GRADUATION
After graduation I hope to work in some aspect of land and resource management that allows me to continue learning from plant communities. I am particularly interested in the ways intentional seed saving can kickstart genetic modification in the face of climate change.

YOUR GIFT
This scholarship is incredibly meaningful to me. The Urban Farm has and continues to be a grounding space for me and has taught me a lot about food, community, and resilience. Receiving this scholarship meaningfully offsets the cost of this degree and will help me focus on my studies instead of the financial burden.

Thank you! This is such a generous gift to receive, and I am incredibly grateful.