So What Exactly Do You All Do?

“So what exactly do you all do?” This is a question I have heard more in the past few weeks then I ever thought possible. Being that I am interning in Marion County which has a fairly small population of about 60,000, and a large portion of that is rural you would think that most people have at least heard of extension. Especially since the agents are on the local radio ever Wednesday morning, the fair grounds are right next door to the office, at least one agent has been to every elementary school in the  county to do a program, the FCS agent does a program once a month on the local TV channel, the weekly article the Ag agent has in the newspaper,   not to mention all the programs that the Extension Office host that are advertised on the radio and TV stations, but no, there are still people in Marion County who give you a blank stare when you say you are with the extension. Now usually when asked about what exactly it is that I do, at some point in my explanation there will be an “ah-ha” moment when the person who asked the question hears of some program that the Extension office puts on and they realize that they have been to the extension office and then they start to understand what extension is because they can relate to some part of it, even if it is a very small part. Other times I have to start making comparisons or using analogies in order for someone to understand what extension does, and eventually they will have a basic understanding of the purpose of extension. I could easily see where it could become annoying, constantly having to give a twenty minuet explanation just to get someone to understand what it is you do, but at the same time it’s a very unique opportunity.

Most people when asked what they do they can just give a quick answer with either the company they work for or a general explanation such as “I work in finance” but not extension, if you respond with I work for UK, that’s met with a puzzled look, or if you say you work in Ag, or with youth, or with families, that isn’t descriptive enough for most people. I’ve learned from this internship that people are curious and a simple vague response does not suffice, and so you almost have to give the full explanation of extension just so they know what your job title means. I personally think this is great because I get to share with someone all of the services and opportunities that extension offers, as well as educate people on extension. I think it’s wonderful that people are interested in what extension is and are willing to listen to my sometimes very long explanation. If you are wondering what brought about my realization that a lot of people ask about what it is that extension does, that’s a simple answer, unlike my disruption of extension. Last week was the county fair, and this week I went with the FCS agent and EFNEP assistant to the farmers market, where plenty of people had questions about what Cooperative Extension was, and “What exactly is it that you all do?”