---
title: "Cool Campus Jobs: Memorial Chapel Garden Steward"
date: 2026-10-05T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/cool-campus-jobs-memorial-chapel-garden-steward"
section: Articles
---
# Cool Campus Jobs: Memorial Chapel Garden Steward

*October 5, 2026* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih)


> No matter the season, student worker helps flora flourish.

*Landscape architecture student Jaqueline Bravo ’28, works on campus as a Memorial Chapel garden steward.

Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle/University of Maryland — Jacqueline Bravo prunes hostas outside the Memorial Chapel. (Photos by Stephanie S. Cordle)*

Cheerful black-eyed Susans to cheer up a student writing in a journal. Fluffy white hydrangeas to complement a Terp bride on her big day. Bushes of pink azaleas to brighten graduation photos.

The kaleidoscope of blooms is part of what makes the [Garden of Reflection and Remembrance](https://arboretum.umd.edu/garden-reflection-and-remembrance) at the University of Maryland’s [Memorial Chapel](https://stamp.umd.edu/visit/memorial_chapel) such a beloved place on campus—and it’s thanks to a student employee who keeps the greenery looking its best.<span></span>

“All my friends work, but this is a little out of the ordinary,” said landscape architecture major Jacqueline Ambrosio Bravo ’28. “Whenever I send my friends a picture of me in the garden, they say, ‘That looks so nice!’”

While many student workers spend their days at desks, she’s outside with gloves on, a bucket ready and tools in hand. She spends about a dozen hours a week during the school year and around 30 over the summer, weeding, clearing leaves, pruning and more.

<span>“The garden steward isn’t just maintaining the space. They’re creating art, because as the garden grows everything changes: the colors, the contours, the events,” said </span>Karen Petroff, director of landscape and special services for Facilities Management.<span> “They’re creating a safe, welcoming space for everything from Convocation to the 9/11 observance to a wedding.” </span>

The Memorial Chapel Garden steward program began in 2011, shortly after the garden opened. Petroff collaborated with the [Division of Student Affairs](https://studentaffairs.umd.edu/) to create a position for the [Arboretum and Botanical Garden](https://arboretum.umd.edu/), giving students in relevant fields like plant science, horticulture or landscape architecture an opportunity to get experience on campus. Graduates have gone on to roles at UMD as well as other arboreta and botanical gardens.

<span>The position provides “an opportunity to really understand how design and maintenance interact, how public use of a space can be best accommodated and how their work contributes to the space,” said Petroff. “And it’s best done through quiet reflection, which is often done on your knees pulling weeds.” </span>

Since then, students have signed on for a semester or more; Bravo has been the steward since last fall, making her one of the longest-serving, thanks to her keen observations and attention to detail, said Petroff. Bravo applied after taking Petroff’s woody plants class; now, the weekly tasks reinforce what she’s learning in her courses about species, growth and management.


*Landscape architecture student Jaqueline Bravo ’28 arranges white hydrangeas — White hydrangeas are among Bravo&#039;s favorite flowers in the Garden of Reflection and Remembrance.*


Bravo’s favorite flora in the garden includes hostas, with their striking foliage and delicate sprigs of bell-shaped flowers; cloud-like white hydrangeas just outside the back entrance to the Chapel; and fiery red twig dogwood, which adds a pop of color in the winter. While she mostly does maintenance, she’s excited to help install a new cherry tree this fall.

“When I first started, I wasn’t confident. I thought, ‘What if I don’t cut something right?’” she said. “But as soon as spring and summer came and everything bloomed, I was really proud.”

It’s a family business, in a way. Her dad, Miguel, works for a landscaping company, and when she was growing up, he often brought home leftover flowers that they would plant together.

Now she works mostly by herself, but Bravo finds the work meditative and a good excuse to get away from computer and phone screens. Eventually, she hopes to design gardens for public parks or neighborhoods like her own in Prince George’s County.

“<span>Hopefully, I can give back to my community,” she said. “I want people to have the environment to sit and enjoy and learn about the plants.” </span>

*This is the first in an occasional series highlighting unique UMD student jobs. Have a suggestion? Email Karen Shih at* <kshih@umd.edu>.




**Topics:** [Campus &amp; Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)


**Tags:** [Plant Science and Landscape Architecture](https://today.umd.edu/topic/plant-science-and-landscape-architecture), [Student Experience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-experience)


**Units:** [College of Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-agriculture-and-natural-resources), [Facilities Management](https://today.umd.edu/topic/facilities-management)