Lauren Goldsby’s path to becoming a UF/IFAS Extension Agent in Bay County, Florida’s panhandle, wasn’t linear. During her undergraduate years at UF, she worked in the Forage Breeding and Genomics Lab and the Blueberry Breeding Lab, gaining early research experience. After graduating, she entered production work, first in the medical cannabis industry and later as a head grower in greenhouse ornamental production, before returning to UF to complete her master’s degree in Horticultural Sciences. Today, she sees Extension as the place where all of those experiences have finally come together.

“It allows me to be a part of bridging the gaps between research and the people who are growing plants… I love getting to work with commercial and residential clients.” Goldsby stated. “What I love about extension is that it allows me to do my favorite parts of learning about plants. I like understanding things all the way through, and it is the middle ground [between research] that I didn’t get to experience until working with extension during my master’s.”

For Goldsby, that “middle ground”, between science and the people whose lives it can change, is exactly where she wants to work. Until you’re talking to the person whose life it benefits, it’s hard to see the real impacts that research makes.

Experiential Learning as a Foundation for Extension Practice

Goldsby’s career path has been shaped by a desire to work with plants in ways that feel meaningful and human. She began in the medical cannabis industry, where the fast-moving, uncharted nature of the work sparked her love for production. She described it as “a really incredible time to be working in an industry that was like the Wild West.”

Later, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she became a head grower in greenhouse ornamentals. At Sunblest Gardens, Goldsby helped transition the operation toward a biological pest management program, replacing most chemical sprays with beneficial insects. She managed inventory across 10 acres, built spray plans, coordinated public events, and oversaw social media, gaining firsthand experience with the realities of production.

It was a rush selling out tropicals and learning production inside and out, but over time, she realized she had hit a ceiling. There was no one left to ask the next set of questions, and nothing new she felt she could learn.

That moment of reflection led her back to UF for graduate school, where encouragement from assistant professor, Dr. Gerardo Nunez, helped her find a new direction. Through the Nunez Lab, she began to see that while she loved working with growers and production systems, her real strength was in translation – bridging science and people through storytelling, problem-solving, and making complex information accessible.

That clarity ultimately led her to where she is today, where no two days look the same. Her work now spans phone calls, field visits, workshops, volunteer coordination, program reporting, and managing Master Gardener volunteers. The pace is constant, the learning curve is steep, and, as she puts it, “you’re never really off the clock, and the questions come at you from every direction.”

What she didn’t anticipate was the emotional side of the job. Many calls go far beyond plants, revealing loneliness, fear, and grief. One conversation, in particular, changed how she viewed her role: a woman called after her dog was diagnosed with pythium, a plant pathogen that can, in rare cases, affect animals.

“I talked to this woman, I cried. She cried. We both cried about her dog, who was dying, and no one could figure out how to save it,” Goldsby said.

Moments like that have redefined what extension means to her. It is not just providing education, but care.

“The times when you actually can help someone who is in tears on the phone with a random stranger… that is the part of this job that I did not expect to love the most.”

Mentorship

Goldsby’s graduate research focused on blueberry production, specifically nitrogen management in evergreen systems. Through Dr. Nunez’s mentorship, she gained experience presenting to growers and explaining her work outside the lab.

“He put me in environments where I had to talk to growers… I thought it was going to be scary and awful, but now I know he was preparing me to be an extension agent.”
At the time, those experiences felt intimidating, but she now recognizes how intentional they were. She says Dr. Nunez had a way of seeing what students needed before they did themselves.

“Dr. Nunez told me that I should be an extension agent. He guided, he saw…and I’ve seen him do it with every student differently. He’s seeing what your strengths are and guiding you without telling you, and that’s really nice.”

Those experiences, in both industry and graduate school, gave her the confidence to step into her current role and begin building programs of her own.

Goldsby now works with homeowners and small-scale growers through her All About Blueberries program, teaching in garden clubs, nurseries, and extension offices. Conversations often start with simple questions (what to plant and where), but build into a deeper understanding of long-term care and a practical understanding.

She also leads hands-on efforts that reinforce those lessons in practice. This includes demonstration garden planting days, seasonal seed kits, and programs focused on growing crops such as sweet potatoes with community partners, like the Bay County Public Library. These efforts give people a clear starting point, removing guesswork that can feel intimidating and create barriers. They are designed to be accessible and actionable, helping people move from learning about plants to actively growing them in their own spaces.

Finding Your Fit Through Experience

Looking ahead, Goldsby plans to stay in Extension. The role has given her experience in program management, communication, budgeting, and responding to real community needs. These are skills that continue to shape how she approaches her work.

For now, her goal is simple: to keep improving as an extension agent and to design programs that truly serve the people she works with.

“I just want to get better at being an extension agent. I want to build stronger programs and design things that actually help people,” she said.

Goldsby also offers clear advice to students who are still figuring out their path: get hands-on with plants as early and as often as possible, in any setting and not just through formal jobs. For her, working directly with plants, alongside guidance from faculty, was essential in helping her understand what she enjoyed and where she fit.

“I encourage people, anytime I can talk to them on an alumni panel, or anywhere, to work before, after, and during. Research during my undergraduate labs taught me that I liked what I was doing. Do work anywhere that you can. It doesn’t have to be a job, but anywhere that you can touch plants while you’re still a student.”

At the heart of her work is storytelling, turning plant science into something people can understand, use, and connect with.

“People want help, and you can help them,” she said. “You’re showing and teaching something that they wouldn’t otherwise get access to.”

And that is why she plans to stay.

“I love what I’m doing right now, and I think I’ll want to do it for a long time,” she said.

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