Julie C. Morse, a 1992 graduate of Fredonia High School, is the Garden Manager at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pa., just outside of Philadelphia. She is part of the team in charge of getting the club ready to host the 108th edition of the PGA Championship from May 14-17.

“I’m excited,” Morse said. “This is a great honor for everybody involved. It’s a team opportunity where we’re all helping each other, and hopefully creating a great experience for everyone.”

Morse is in her 11th year at Aronimink Golf Club. She lives just outside of the city of Philadelphia, roughly 20 minutes from Aronimink Golf Club. This is the third national tournament hosted in her time at Aronimink, but the first PGA Championship. Roughly 200,000 spectators are expected to attend the PGA Championship, one of the four major tournaments on the schedule for the top players in the world.

“Just the scale alone is different. There has been far more planning taking place,” Morse said. “When you see the amount of involvement and time that they are putting into constructing all of the structures, that is far more than what I saw in previous tournaments.”

Pictured is the clubhouse of Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pa., the host of the PGA Championship May 14 to 17. Fredonia native Julie C. Morse is the club’s Garden Manager in charge of overseeing the grounds around the facilities.

Morse grew up in Fredonia for her entire childhood. She is the daughter of Charlotte Morse and the late Dr. Philip S. Morse, both retired from the State University of New York at Fredonia. She recalls her childhood fondly, with plenty of quality time spent outdoors.

“I really valued growing up in a small community where I felt connected to neighbors and family friends who were supportive and encouraged my independence,” Morse said.

Morse says she was influenced by growing up in a region with an appreciation for nature, through farming and the proximity to Lake Erie.

“There were so many beautiful and untamed places to play as a child. The freedom to roam and wander in a rural setting increased my interest to explore as an adolescent,” Morse said.

Growing up, she worked summer jobs such as gardening and landscaping to challenge her body and mind in terms of working outdoors with nature. As she grew older, she realized it was not just something she was experienced with, it was a passion.

“I knew what I enjoyed as an adolescent, but I don’t think that I knew what my options were to apply that as a career,” Morse said.

She originally pursued a teaching career, but even after graduating, she felt like something was missing. “There was just something that wasn’t totally aligned with me,” Morse said.

Morse took a step back and decided to try gardening instead. She acknowledges it was “a little bit of a leap”, but she kept an open mind as she navigated through a career change. Morse moved several times in search of more opportunities to build upon her knowledge. She took plenty of jobs that “maybe weren’t the best fit” over the years, knowing that she was still gaining something from every new experience.

“I really had to try a lot of different opportunities to find a career that fit my interests and my skills,” Morse said. “I think it’s important for young people, who are just trying to figure out what they want to do, to take risks. Always consider other opportunities, and try it out. Get into the experience for yourself because you don’t really know if a job or a career is a good fit until you’re in the setting, around the people who are actually doing that work.”

Eventually, Morse found a home with a group of gardeners in Boston and never looked back.

“I just felt like I had found my niche,” Morse said. “I was always really excited to go to work. At that point I realized this is a passion, and I had just overlooked it.”

Morse went back to school and earned a second degree, this time in Environmental Design from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. That set up her career in landscape design and horticulture.

At Aronimink Golf Club, Morse oversees the grounds surrounding the main buildings on the property. She comes up with landscape plans and manages installation of any new construction. Seasonal displays are also under her direction, with a staff of gardeners working alongside her throughout the season.

“One of the greatest things is the feedback that we get from members. They really appreciate what we do, seeing the different seasonal displays,” Morse said. “It makes it rewarding for me because I feel like my purpose here is really to connect people to their surroundings. When you get that positive reinforcement from the members, you know that you’ve accomplished your goal.”

In her field, Morse has noticed the shift from just trying to design something aesthetically pleasing, to now being more focused on creating wildlife habitats and supporting sustainable environments. In her role now, she knows that better than ever.

Aronimink Golf Club is not just any golf course. It is certified through Audubon International, a nonprofit organization that promotes “environmental stewardship.” To become certified, Aronimink is required to provide environmental education, support native species, and conduct water studies to remain sustainable. In the past, Aronimink has even utilized crops from its own 3,000 square foot vegetable garden to prepare meals for the members and staff.

Morse believes where she came from helped her become who she is now, in charge of impressing hundreds of thousands of guests and, later this month, millions watching around the world. From her family members who inspired her love for the outdoors to the summer jobs she had around town that helped foster that love, Morse carries a fondness for her hometown in everything she does.

“My upbringing and my experience in Chautauqua County is something that I’ve carried with me through my lifetime. Growing up in a community that is so closely tied together really made an impression on me. It made me realize how important it is to work together with other people and the value of what people offer,” Morse said.