Congratulations to Freddy Mendez Urbano for receiving the Horticultural Research Institute Mugget Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded by the Mugget Growers of America (MGA) to help foster and support students who are pursuing a degree in horticulture. Freddy is currently pursuing his Masters under the advisement of OPGC Director Dr. Yu Ma. His research focuses on advancing cold tolerance in Begonia and follows three key objectives (1) determining genetic variation among B. grandis accessions using traditional and high-throughput phenotyping technologies, (2) identifying candidate genes associated with cold tolerance, and (3) developing improved Begonia germplasm through interspecific hybridization between elite cultivars and the most cold-tolerant B. grandis accession.