Heads Up Landscape Contractors, based in Albuquerque, NM, has debuted a scholarship program to support the higher-education goals of the children of its employees. The program, with rolling application deadlines, will award between $250 and $500 to use for books and course fees, with higher amounts offered for horticultural related studies.
“This new program is a way to help encourage the pursuit of education, which is a high priority for us at Heads Up,” says Eddie Padilla, executive vice president. “As everyone knows, the cost of going to college is increasing each year, with the price of books being one of those increasing costs. Our goal is to help reduce some of that burden for the children of our employees, and create value for the employees at the same time.”
Heads Up surveyed employees to determine whether they had high school and college age children. The results were surprising, with more than 20 children attending college as of late 2015.
A committee of employees will review applications, which will be available online and in paper versions and in both English and Spanish. Applicants must write an essay and provide proof of at least a 2.75 cumulative GPA. Students must have a parent or legal guardian who is an active employee of Heads Up, and may reapply each semester to continue the award.
Award-winning Heads Up Landscape Contractors was founded in 1973 by Gary Mallory as a two-man residential lawn sprinkler service. Forty-three years later, Heads Up designs, installs and maintains New Mexico’s top commercial and residential landscapes, and leads the xeriscape industry as one of the top 100 landscaping companies in the country. In 2014, Heads Up was voted Best Landscaper by the readers of the Albuquerque Journal, and named Best in the City for landscaping services by the readers of Albuquerque The Magazine for the second year in a row.