Alumni Voices
“Grow Dat has impacted my life by turning me into the person I can say that I love today. I started out as a quiet shy person and I never would have dreamed of being in a leadership position in my entire life. Now that I’m here I can say it’s because of the work that the team at Grow Dat has done to help me grow as a person. I’ve been at Grow Dat for 4 years and each year I learn something new, not only about myself but about the world and the community I’m a part of. Even though I’ve been in New Orleans for my whole life, I feel like I didn’t learn as much about the city as I did coming to this program.
I am a young person who’s not afraid to speak my mind anymore. I’m better at communicating, and better at helping others communicate, and I’m not afraid to teach people about the world around them.”
-Aspien Beaco (Crew Member, ACL, Seed Project, Crew Leader, 2020-2024)
“I never could have expected how Grow Dat would have affected my life when I applied to the program at the age of 15: I entered the program without direction nor the confidence to speak and left with the goal to teach mathematics at the university level. In the years since, I have achieved that goal because of the communication toolsI learned at Grow Dat. To this day, I reference guidelines such as "Both-and" and "Self focus" while talking in my professional life and personal life -- even if the person I'm talking to has no idea what they mean -- because these ideas help me to be a kinder, more understanding, and personal communicator. The program at Grow Dat is flexible, the Crew Leaders and program staff teach to the needs of the Crew Members even if the Crew Members don't know exactly what they need. Because of this, everyone gets something useful from the program.”
-Gustavs Tobiss (Crew Member, ACL, VISIONs, Crew Leader, 2017-2021)
“Grow Dat influenced my path after the program because it made me understand the importance of community and how much stronger the collective is than the individual. Grow Dat is a culmination of many brilliant minds from all kinds of backgrounds but the true beauty of Grow Dat is how all these different people come together and form a beautiful collective that empowers not only the individual members but literally the soil the community lives on. Grow Dat fostered the perfect environment for me and many others to evolve as humans and the experiences I had at Grow Dat have shaped me to be a more caring and empathetic person. ”
-Dayo Akinlana (Crew Member & Seed Project, 2022-2023)
“If it hadn’t been for Grow Dat I wouldn’t be a confident, self reliant, and socially aware young adult. Grow Dat has helped me to look at both the bigger picture of what is going on where I live, as well as the smaller things which shape my home. Because of Grow Dat, when I am traveling around New Orleans I am able to notice where food apartheids are within the city, and within that what the demographics of that part of town are. Grow Dat has provided me with advanced communication tools that have helped me within my personal and professional lives. Through daily use of these tools I have become aware of my desire to share them with others, inspiring me to pursue a career as a licensed therapist. ”
-Sarah Watson (Crew Member, ACL, Seed Project, Crew Leader, 2017-2022)
“It is an understatement to say that working at Grow Dat over the last four years has been one of the most defining experiences of my life. In addition to learning crucial job and life skills (communication, teamwork, cooking, leadership, etc), I also discovered who I was and who I wanted to be as a friend, coworker, and leader. I had never been in such a kind, accepting workplace environment that not only facilitates but encourages vulnerability and personal growth across all disciplines. Through countless real talks, workshops, and silly conversations during Ag tasks, I was able to accept myself and find my own voice, which I will forever be grateful for.”
-Clara Kreutziger (Crew Member, ACL, Seed Project, VISIONs, Garden Construction Intern, 2020-2023)
“Working at Grow Dat was so much more than just farm work, it was a community that supported each other both in and out of work. If you are looking to make connections and gain experience in an environmental justice community Grow Dat is the place to be. One of my favorite experiences at Grow Dat was working on the Grow Dat cookbook and learning about where different foods come and how to make them. I learned valuable skills at Grow Dat that taught be how to be independent while having fun and doing sustainable farm work that mattered. ”
-Sebastian Chauvin (Crew Member & Seed Project, 2021-2022)