“My birthmark is shaped like a peanut. I was destined for a career in agriculture from the start!” said Dr. Luke Morgan. Audrey Luke Morgan has been a professor at ABAC since 2012, but she was part of the ABAC family long before then.
ABAC is where she started her educational career in 1992 and where she graduated with her associates in 1994. She then went to the University of Georgia where she completed her graduate studies in 1998 and began work as a Research Coordinator with the University of Georgia National Center for Peanut Competitiveness.
It was her responsibility to coordinate with production scientists to plan and conduct research relative to peanuts. Before teaching at ABAC, she was the Public Service Associate with the University of Georgia’s Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development as an agribusiness economist.
When she started teaching at ABAC in Spring 2012, she said “it was like coming home! There is a family atmosphere at ABAC that is unequaled at any other institution.” She quickly gained the nickname ALM, which stuck and holds to this day.
Growing up on a diversified row crop and beef cattle farm, she said that, “I didn’t necessarily choose agriculture, but rather agriculture chose me! Agriculture is my passion!”
Her focus is on agribusiness, which may seem like a strange choice to some, but she said, “agriculture, like our economy, is cyclical. In one way or another, all agriculture includes a business component. Understanding the business aspects helps increase the likelihood the business will not only survive but thrive!”
Her favorite part of her job is interacting with students. She loves to see them learn, grow, and succeed.
ALM uses examples from her past experiences on the family farm, from her career in agricultural research, public service, and outreach to make connections between unfamiliar business or economic terminologies with real-life hands-on applications. She said, “I also love for them to come and seek advice from ALM!”
Her advice to students is to realize the importance of finding their passion in whatever field of study that may be, “Passion about whatever it is you are doing is what makes you successful.
“My second piece of advice would be to never stop learning. Be a lifetime learner! Be willing to step outside your comfort zone because that is how we truly grow.”
When she is not teaching she enjoys living life to the fullest with her teenage daughter, Meredith, and their dachshund, Penny.
