By Lakin Stevens
Dalton Nagy, Honors first year student majoring in business management, planted 444 bulbs in the Honors College Bailey last semester in November of 2021. Inspired and motivated by his time spent in the Bailey, Nagy decided to plant flowers to improve the space. He recognized that the beautification of the shared space would be a
“great way to benefit my fellow honors students.”
He explained, “During high school, I worked in a flower shop. While working there, I also began to plant a bunch of flowering plants at home. Once I got to college, I realized that planting flowers was still something I wanted to do. I started spending many hours hammocking in the Bailey and it reminded me of where I hammock back home.”
In the initial stages of his project, Nagy coordinated with Dean Jeff Vahlbusch, hall councils and landscaping management at Appalachian. He met with the name here, regional manager at Lowe’s Hardware in Boone, who donated several bulbs: tulips, hyacinth bulbs, muscari, and daffodils. As a business management major, Nagy was able to develop his professional skills of building connections and managing communications in working with Lowe’s.
With a borrowed shovel from Dean Vahlbusch and more bulbs he found on-sale at Walmart, Nagy planted 444 bulbs over the span of six hours. This semester his work proved to pay off as the bulbs have bloomed and have survived the freeze and thaw of early spring.
Photo above features Dalton Nagy planting his flower bulbs on November 1, 2021. Photo submitted.
Nagy remarked, “A week later [than the freezing temperatures], hyacinths began to peek up and two weeks after that, all of the tulips were in full bloom. I couldn’t have done it without the support of Dean Jeff and the Honors College – and for that I am very thankful. I appreciated the opportunity to be a part of something fun here at Appalachian State.”
As a first-year student in the Honors College, Nagy has been able to plant his own roots in the Honors College through academics and community. He described,
“The Honors College has been a great community to be brought into with the start of college. I got nothing but support from my friends and peers on this project and that was so rewarding!”
Photos above show Nagy's bulbs in full bloom.
