***This post is written by Mira Karthik who joined me in Louisiana for this series. Having just finished work on a political campaign and gearing up for a Fulbright engagement in Peru, she was interested to learn more about the work we do with A Peace of My Mind. I met Mira in Northern Ireland last summer while I traveled with students from Willamette University as they visited Corrymeela reconciliation center. Mira was a recent graduate from Willamette where she was a part of their Conversation Project with an interest in politics and civic dialogue. Here are her reflections on the work.***

“I had the absolute privilege of joining John last week hearing and collecting stories from the
2024 LSU AgCenter Extension Summit in Alexandria, Louisiana. To say this experience was
transformative feels like an understatement. From learning about the deep and rich history of
Louisiana, to hearing stories from Ag Professionals who are doing incredible work in serving
their communities, I felt so fortunate to be along for the ride!

The three-day conference brought together AgCenter professionals from different parishes and
specialties across the state. These professionals working with the AgCenter and extension
services ranged from Horticulture agents and members of SeaGrant serving coastal areas, to
4-H agents working with leadership and agricultural education for kids. We talked to Extension
agents who just started working with the AgCenter a few months ago, to those who have served
and worked in their communities for decades.

The APoMM booth was quite a hit at the conference. Within just the day we were there, we got
to talk to and hear stories from over 100 people. The prompt given to them was to think about
when they’ve seen their work make a difference. Even though each of these professionals
worked in such different fields or work, serving parishes across the state with different needs,
the common theme of over 100 people was clear– they all loved what they do. Every single
person who came to talk to us and get their photo taken had at least one if not a dozen powerful
stories that not only highlighted the tangible and direct impact of their work, but the love in their
hearts they felt for their parishes, their communities, and their roles.

Every story shared felt like a warm hug to hear. The LSU AgCenter employs hundreds of
professionals to help thousands of community members in Louisiana. Witnessing a common
and shared love for the work was incredibly powerful. At the end, when John presented the final
product of the photos and quotes together during his Keynote, I found myself in awe of the energy
and connection in the room. Each response to the question “When have you seen your work make
a difference?” was answered with unique lived experiences, fields of
work, communities they serve within the state. Some shared stories about their work with
4-H’ers and how the program has encouraged leadership and personal growth amongst youth.
Others shared stories about the impact of nutrition education or working with farmers to teach
them best agricultural practices. But it was their mutual love for their work and serving their
communities that shined through.

Helping John in Louisiana after spending much of my life living on the West Coast, I was truly
honored to meet Americans from another part of the country, many of whom I may not have met
otherwise if it were not for this work. This was my first exposure to the world of Agriculture and
the important role of Extension professionals in serving their communities and helping them
thrive. Even with our inherent differences in lived experiences, fields of work, and communities
we serve, I felt myself connecting to each person and to each story shared. The love the LSU
AgCenter Extension professionals feel for their communities is the same love I feel for my
community too. Hundreds of miles away from each other and yet that love is the same!

This experience was such a powerful reminder of how we can find common ground and connect
with people who are different from each other by sharing and listening to stories. Now more than
ever, this simple act of storytelling and story listening is necessary to bring together different
people in different communities across our country and the world, to realize that we aren’t so
different after all. We all have a collective responsibility to listen, to learn and to love one
another.

A huge thank you to John for inviting me to help him out at the summit, and the LSU AgCenter
Extension community for embodying this very sentiment of love in their work AND through their
participation in this project. It was truly an honor to join APOMM and play a little role in the work
John does across the country, and it was an honor to be reminded of the power of stories from
the 2024 LSU AgCenter Extension Summit!” – Mira Karthik