Cassadra Beimforth
B.S. Sustainable Plant Systems, Urban Horticulture Emphasis. College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences, Class of 2026.
About Cassandra: Coming soon...
Tesha Banks
B.S. Geography, College of Geography, Development and Environment and B.A. Anthropology Major, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Class of 2026
About Tesha: I am a nontraditional undergraduate student pursuing two degrees and working full time. I have been fascinated by xeric plants for several years, and have maintained a long term interest in water conservation, ecological restoration, and the relationship between peoples and their lands. I hope to use my combination of degrees to support the people of southern Arizona in reconnecting with the desert as a home and a place to be cherished. My work with the Campus Arboretum allows me to connect with people and plants, and connect people with plants! Plus, there is nothing more fun than sitting surrounded by a stack of books, researching a certain plant species that we are lucky enough to have right here on our beautiful campus.
Joe Blicksfeldt
Plant Sciences Major, College of Agriculture, Life, and Environmental Sciences, Class of 2026
About Joe: Joe is a non-traditional student from Idaho, working with the Campus Arboretum on a new series of plant tours. He is a plant nerd and comes from a family of “green fairies” who have a deep appreciation for nature, leading him to Tucson to pursue a degree that will create a path toward a career in botanical research. Joe is thrilled to have the opportunity to strengthen the connections folks have with the plants on campus through his service learning projects with the Campus Arboretum. His first project resulted in an outreach tour especially for students. He later contributed to content creation that increases the reach of the student tours through social media and YouTube.
AJ Vasquez
B.S. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Science, Class of 2027
Anthropology Minor, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Class of 2027
About AJ: AJ initially began work with the arboretum researching species information for a dozen arboretum plants. As a native Tucsonan and first generation college student, he was later inspired to develop an outreach tour for the arboretum that shared his personal and family knowledge of the human uses of Sonoran native plants. He was drawn to work with the Campus Arboretum because of his love for the natural world and his special interest in plants. He is a plant collector with a desire to add more diversity to the dozens of interesting plants in his current collection.
Aboud Zahlan
B.S. Sustainable Plant Systems, Urban Horticulture Emphasis, College of Agriculture Life and Environmental Science, Class of 2026
About Aboud: I have always had a fascination for man made landscapes, which look to connect people to the nature around them. It is a tricky thing for a landscape to balance its human accessibility, while maintaining a host of plant and animal life around it. This is what drove me to love this arboretum so much, its fascinating collection of native and international flora, all hosted within the campus of the University of Arizona. I hope to pursue a Masters in Landscape Architecture after I graduate. With my work here and beyond, I would like to continue connecting people to the world around them through landscapes.
Madison Oswald
B.S. Sustainable Plant Systems, Urban Horticulture Emphasis, Class of 2025.
About Madison's project: Madicon completed 15 species reports for the arboretum species pages in partial fulfillment of internship requirements for their degree.
Biony Campisi
B.S. Plant Sciences, School of Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences with minors in Applied Biotechnology and Sustainable Plant Systems.
About Briony's project: Briony completed 4 species reports for the arboretum species pages in partial fulfillment of honors contract credit for PLS330 (Principles and Techniques of Plant Propagation and Culture) Spring 2025.