Clifton…

Sydney Clifton tried her hand at other career opportunities before realizing her place in this world is outdoors. To her, being outside is a mood-lifter. She is into nature and hiking and really likes the active part of her job as a member of a detail crew in Southview Design’s Landscape Care division.

A detail crew comes in after the mow crew has finished to walk a site and “make everything perfect,” as she puts it. There is satisfaction in putting the finishing touches on a site. “We clear the sidewalks and driveways of grass and leaves, make sure plant bed mulches are in place, prune when needed, and do some weeding.” She loves learning all she can about plants – right plant, right place, as we say. Sydney just started with Southview Design this year but has plans to explore all aspects of the company. After spending some time in the field, she is interested in taking a turn on the landscape installation/construction side of the business and, eventually, marketing and design. She is also contemplating going back to school to study horticulture/design.

Valiquet…

Sydney Valiquet is a graduate of NDSU in Environmental Design and is interning with Southview Design this summer.

By this time next year, she will have her master’s degree in Landscape Architecture. She recognized early on her forte is in design. She loves the creative challenges of landscape design/architecture. Originally, she was studying architecture but realized, with her love of nature and the environment, she belonged in landscape design. She is only a few weeks into the internship but was surprised to learn how, from design concepts to installation, it is a team effort, and everyone must work together to complete a project.

When asked what part of her internship she is most looking forward to, she did not hesitate – landscape installation crew member. She is from the Twin Cities, born and raised in Blaine. Design must run in her family. Her sister, Sophia, is finishing high school and hopes to study engineering in college.