Joshua Fain, a senior at Auburn University majoring in landscape horticulture and minoring in business, was named the 2026 Kevin Kehoe Student Leader of the Year at the 50th National Collegiate Landscape Competition.
Throughout his time at Auburn, Fain has been a selfless leader and an outstanding student academically, despite running his business, J. Fain Landscaping, at the same time.
Fain has served as the president of the Auburn University Landscape and Nursery Association for the past three years. In this role, he coordinated guest speakers for meetings, organized the club’s plant sale and planned the club’s trip to NCLC. He also served as a student ambassador at the 2023 ELEVATE in Dallas.
After graduating, Fain plans to take a job working for a commercial and residential maintenance company in South Carolina.
How did you become interested in wanting to major in something related to the landscape industry?
I first got interested in it via my dad, who was a horticultural professor at Auburn. I wasn’t totally bought into it, but as I went on past my freshman year, getting involved in the student chapter of NALP at Auburn, and just going to conferences, helped me to realize that this is bigger than I ever thought it was. I remember having a conversation with my dad about that. I had no idea that this was an option, and there’s all of these people who are super interested and super invested in it. These conferences are fun, and I enjoy this. Next thing I know, I’ll be graduating in May, and I’ve stuck with it the whole time.
When did you start your business?
I started my business in August 2023. I had just completed my first internship after my freshman year, and I did that with a local landscape construction business, and they poured into me so much. The owners did so much for me, telling me the ins and outs of the business operations, just showing me how everything works, and then sitting down with me and saying, ‘This is what it looks like to run a business.’
They kept it honest and real, telling me that it takes a lot of work and effort to run a business. A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, I want to have my own business to make more money.’ But you have to have a different reason for doing it. They inspired me so much to chase after this dream I had of having something on my own and being able to learn real experience on my own with my own business.
What is your ‘why’ for the business?
My ‘why’ shifted from I want to learn as much as I can, and I want to benefit from this financially, to I want to teach people about what I do and about this industry, so they can get a better understanding of it.
There was a point where I was getting burnt out, and I was like, ‘Man, why am I doing this?’ I had to sit and think about it. It’s hard to notice that if you’re just going through the motions; you really do have to sit and think about why am I doing this or why does this impact me? Why am I interested in this? That was huge for me and allowed me to continue to do it and enjoy doing it.
How have you balanced running your own landscape business with excelling in school?
It’s a balance for sure. I had to learn how to say no. That was something that I was not good at. I am a little bit of a people pleaser. There was one point where I was running my business, doing the club, head coach of a soccer team, and school. I was like, ‘I can’t do this. Something has to dial back in my life, or I’ll burn out, and I won’t be able to give 100% to everything that I value and care about.’ I ended up stepping away from coaching soccer, but learning to say no is a huge thing, and no matter how many times you say it, you still have instances where I’m like, ‘Man, I probably shouldn’t have taken on all these jobs.’
Why has it been so important to you to help other students succeed?
I’ve always found myself in leadership roles. I’ve been captain of my soccer team in high school multiple times. I’ve held leadership positions in my high school classes. I obviously still have a lot to learn, but I really enjoy the opportunity to get to lead people, especially people who are like me. All the members of our club, our student chapter, I see a little bit of myself in all of them, whether it’s the major that they picked or how much experience they have in the industry, because I started out with zero.
There were people there for me who helped drive me to apply for scholarships, to go on these trips to these really good conferences, and learn and get out there and network with people. I’m an introvert by nature, but when I joined this industry, my dad was like, ‘You gotta network.’ Shaking someone’s hand was the scariest thing to me when I was a freshman. So much of that has changed now, and I want to be that for other people. I have the desire to see people succeed, because I’ve had so many good people want that for me.
How does this scholarship help you?
It helps me a lot financially. It helps put me through school, which is great, especially since it’s my last semester. Being able to come out of school with my right foot forward, prepared and able to go on and do the next chapter of my life. I’m getting married in June, so coming out of school with school paid for is a blessing. The scholarships have helped me so much financially, mentally and physically as well. Just taking that burden off of me so that I can focus on school, relationships and leaving an impact on Auburn even after I’m gone.
What does it mean to be named the Kevin Kehoe Student Leader of the Year scholarship?
It means a lot to me. I had no clue that I was going to be named that, and it was emotional for me, because I had put so much time and effort into the organization, into the members of my student chapter, and I never did it to get recognized for anything. I did it because I enjoyed it and because I care so deeply about everyone in that club.
That’s why I was crying, because I cared so much about them, and to see that they value me, it meant the world to me, and to get recognized for it was huge. To even be a finalist was enough for me. It shows that I was successful in what I set my mind to doing, and that was pulling a group of students closer together, to build personal relationships and industry relationships.
In my mind, we had a group of students who were super invested in each other and in the industry, and that was a win for me, and then winning it was the cherry on top. It’s hard for me to put into words what it meant, the emotion I felt. I haven’t felt anything else like that. I joke with my fiancé that until we get married, that was the best day of my life.
How did you hear about the scholarship?
This was my fourth time at NCLC, so I’d seen them give the award out, and honestly, I had been sitting there watching people win it, and thinking it would be so cool to win that. I just don’t think that it would ever happen for me, because someone has to nominate me, and probably it’s a whole process, and even if they nominate me, the committee would have to select me.
I had been aware of it, and honestly, I’d forgotten about it at the closing ceremony until they started talking about the finalists, which added to the emotion.
Are you familiar with Kevin Kehoe’s legacy?
I am. I have sat and heard from people in the industry talk about the impact that he had. I remember multiple workshops that I went to this past year at ELEVATE. They got done with their talk, and then proceeded to share the impact that Kevin Kehoe had on this industry, on them specifically, and what his legacy continues to do. I was not unfamiliar with it, and very inspired by it, and really respect his legacy, and just the way that everybody that I’ve interacted with feels about it, and that means a lot.
Do you have anything you’d like to say to those who donated to the NALP Foundation to make this scholarship possible?
I just like to say thank you for investing in me. They obviously know because they donate, but there’s value in investing in the future generation of this industry. I want to tell them it’s not going to waste; that your donations help.
The scholarships helped bolster my interest and my drive in this industry, but also others who receive them, I know that’s the case. Their investment means a lot, and it does a lot, and I hope to one day be in their shoes and doing the same thing, because I want to do what someone did for me. I want to invest in the next generation that’s coming after me because I know how important and impactful it can be. Without these scholarships, I would not be where I’m at right now, that’s safe to say.
