When Sanford Regional Technical Center Agriculture Instructor Jennifer Coverdale wants to contact AHN Landscaping, the response usually comes from her own student Noelle Dennis. Noelle is a junior in the program and, by most measures, a full business partner in her family's landscaping company.
"She's basically her dad's business partner," Coverdale said. "I send an email to him, and she's the one who checks the email. She is involved in all of the work that he's doing."
That level of involvement is something Noelle has built steadily over the past three years, learning the business from the ground up. From talking to clients and planning job sites to managing equipment and running crews, she has taken on responsibility at an age when most of her peers are still figuring out what they want to do after graduation.
For Noelle, the appeal of the work has always been clear. "I certainly like the career, and being outside," she said. "It suits me." Running a landscaping business means no two days look the same, and that's exactly how she likes it. At AHN Landscaping, she isn't just showing up to mow lawns. She's learning how to build and run a business, one job at a time. "We've done many jobs," she said. "It's something I really want to continue to pursue."
This winter marked her first season handling snow removal on her own, and it tested her early. During her very first storm, her plow broke down twice in the same spot before losing power entirely. It was the kind of night that reminds you how unpredictable this work can be. But Noelle took it in stride, and she kept going.
“I had been on the sidelines of storms before and this was my first time being on the frontlines,” Noelle said. “That plow didn’t want to work at all.”
Back in the classroom, Coverdale says Noelle's real-world experience makes her a natural leader among her peers. She's not the loudest voice in the room, but she's the one others look to. "She leads by example," Coverdale said. "If there's a heavy pile that needs to be moved, she's the first person on it. She's not doing it to look cool or to be the person who's right. She just cares about the end product, and the other students respect her for that."
The Agriculture program at SRTC has given Noelle additional tools to bring to her work at AHN Landscaping. Plant identification, horticultural science, and a deeper understanding of what she's installing and why have all sharpened the way she communicates with clients. "It gives me more background knowledge and makes me more professional," she said. "Clients want someone who knows what they're doing."
Noelle's story is also part of something bigger happening at SRTC, where extended learning opportunities allow students across programs to earn school credit while working in their chosen fields. She is one of many students bridging the classroom and the real world, building skills and experience that will carry them well beyond graduation.