Jackson Feinknopf has a new appreciation for landscape architecture, and is considering it for a career path, thanks to his APEX Fellowship with EDGE Group.

Throughout the summer, we're checking in with several returning student-athletes who are partaking in unique experiences relating to student research or internships. Our first profile features Jackson Feinknopf, a rising senior from the cross country and track & field teams.

This summer, Feinknopf is working as an intern at EDGE Group, a landscape architecture firm that specializes in revitalizing public and private spaces through innovative urban planning and development consultation.

The anthropology major and Advising, Planning, and Experiential Learning (APEX) Fellow has worked with computer modeling programs such as AutoCAD, SketchUP, and Enscape during his internship. In doing so, Feinknopf's fine-tuned his skills in developing accurate computer models for projects such as pools, plazas, and corporate campuses. Feinknopf's also utilized the AutoCAD software to create a comprehensive plan for planting trees and other flora.

"The internship at EDGE Group has certainly made me appreciate the beauty found in the small details," summed up Feinknopf. "Landscape architects must consider texture, building and safety requirements, climate, accessibility, and more, while also trying to create an aesthetically pleasing space that meets all the needs of the client."

"Many people think landscape architecture is made up of just planting," continued Feinknopf. "It has an entire other side that works with hardscape features such as roads, bridges, bleachers, sidewalks, benches, walls, stairs, and more. The work of landscape architects often works to bring communities together and revitalize community space."

Site visits represent another aspect of Feinknopf's internship. There, he checks in on the construction to see if the projects are adhering to the original landscape architectural plans. After completion, the site visits are essential to evaluating the space's success when measured against the intended purpose.

Further, Feinknopf's expanded the firm's portfolio as he's tasked with photographing the sites for marketing purposes, and more recently overseeing the firm's submissions to the American Society of Landscape Architects Awards.

"The aspect of bringing communities together over a shared public space is something that has been the most rewarding to witness through site visits," said Feinknopf, whose site visits have included LifeLine of Ohio Memorial Plaza and the Dayton VA Grotto Garden. "EDGE Group really works to consider the community and cultural history of the space before the design phase begins. This internship has given me a new perspective on landscape architecture and I am certainly considering it as a career path moving forward."

Noteworthy, former NFL All-Pro and Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George was one of the founding partners of the firm in 2003.

About APEX Fellowships

APEX Fellowships offer structure and mentored support to students engaged in unpaid summer internships or vocational exploration programs of at least six weeks (or at least 225 hours) in duration. The fellowship includes funding, a learning contract, regular structured reflection, final reflective assignment and evaluation, on-campus reporting, and ongoing staff support. This summer, the College's experiential learning team funded 59 such fellowships. To learn more about the College's APEX Fellowship program, visit https://www.wooster.edu/academics/apex/experiential/apex-fellowships/.