Using Science and Extension to Open our Minds and Hearts

Dr. David Buys is an associate professor of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion and state specialist for Mississippi State University. His expertise spans farmer stress and health to opioid misuse and participatory research. I left with so many take-aways but two in particular: There’s opportunity to “open our minds and our hearts” and, no matter where you are on your life or career journey, “we haven’t arrived yet… we’re still on the journey.” This helps me think through, ok, it’s no longer, “Now what? It’s, now anything!”

 

• As we try to define a Cooperative Extension Health Specialist, he describes his job as an Extension specialist like a healthcare provider generalist or primary care provider: “I take what walks in the door.” Extension has to continue to be responsive and robust.
• Consider expertise: Different titles for different states but agents/ county-based educators are the experts. Specialists—slow down from wanting to “bring” curriculum-- invest in people.
• Nurture relationships, communicate the relationship process in your tenure and annual reviews—Some Extension work doesn’t fit nice and neat into a table – storytelling as a way to communicate “impacts”
• We struggle with the emotional energy of “the job” and how to turn off and turn to family
• There are many right paths to get you to the job, there aren’t a lot of “wrong” paths. Take your major and your time.
• Show up whole at work: Bring our perspectives, and leave anxiety at the door
• Reminder: We love what we do
• The system is the people.
• More people want expansion, connection, diversity, inclusion, love, than the louder voices that say, “be scared of how you and what you think” and “restrict yourself." We start this change one lab or team at a time.

Follow Dr. Buys on twitter @DrBuys