Story by Allison Boggan, Staff writer

Photo by Mackenzie O’Donnley/The News

With Homecoming quickly approaching, many Murray State organizations and departments are pitching in to make the event a success.

In Steven Still’s floral design course, his students work in collaboration with a guest course instructor, Kimberly Bellah, to learn the art of floral arrangement. These arrangements, composed of mums, are used in one of the many Homecoming events.

“I began teaching about making traditional Texas-style Homecoming mums when I taught the floral design class a few years ago during the horticulture faculty transition time,” Bellah said. “When Dr. Still began teaching the class, he asked me if I would continue teaching that lesson, so I bring my materials and we construct the mums together.”

Bellah most enjoys teaching the students about the history of Homecoming mums and why students make them today. When she moved to Texas she was introduced to the arrangements and she wanted to continue that tradition for her children when they moved to Kentucky

“In terms of teaching, since my students primarily are planning to become high school agricultural educators, it is wonderful to show them a project they can incorporate into their agricultural programs as both the start to a tradition and as a means to raise some money for their floral design programs,” Bellah said.

What is most memorable to Bellah each year is watching her students go from a place of suspicion or concern when looking at their materials, to a place of frustration in learning how to braid ribbons and create loops, to a place of pride and amazement at their own creativity with ribbons, artificial flowers, staples and glue guns.

Kassie Maierhofer, senior from Seneca, Illinois, enjoyed learning about the different types of floral arrangements and how they are used for different events across the country. She also enjoyed the creativity the arrangements gave each creator. The mum arrangements were challenging but allowed her to be as creative as she wished.

“I’m not sure that I’ll ever make the mum arrangements in my future career, but as an agricultural communications major, I utilize every experience that I can get,” Maierhofer said. “I think understanding floral arrangements helps to create versatility within my skill sets.”

She said in agriculture, no one ever really knows what tasks they will encounter. Each day is different, so every experience is beneficial to have and there is never really too much exposure to different elements within the field.

“Students are benefiting from the experience because it shows them another type or style of floral design and they may be interested in instructing their future students in this type of mum creation,” Still said.

Homecoming starts Friday, Oct. 26 and continues on Saturday, Oct. 27 with a variety of events for Murray State students, faculty, alumni and community members to partake in.