『Discover Lafayette』のカバーアート

Discover Lafayette

Discover Lafayette

著者： Jan Swift
無料で聴く

The Gateway to South LouisianaDiscover Lafayette© 旅行記・解説 社会科学
エピソード
  • Sensai Stacey Knight Mejia – Women’s Safety Awareness Begins with Confidence

    Sensai Stacey Knight Mejia – Women’s Safety Awareness Begins with Confidence
    2026/07/03
    Our guest is Stacey Knight Mejia, an attorney by training but better known throughout Acadiana as “Sensei Stacey,” co-owner and chief instructor of Acadiana Karate. A ten-time national forms and weapons champion, Stacey has spent decades teaching martial arts, confidence, and practical self-defense to children and adults. Her message is simple but powerful: “The goal isn’t to live in fear. The goal is to live with awareness, confidence, and the ability to trust yourself.” As Stacey explains, avoiding violence begins long before physical self-defense becomes necessary. “Ninety to ninety-five percent of all self-defense scenarios can be avoided by pre-planning.” That single statement frames our entire discussion. Stacey explains that every attack begins with three elements: a predator, a victim, and an opportunity. Predators are looking for easy targets and easy opportunities, which is why awareness matters so much. “You are what you look like. How you stand, how you walk. Eye contact is huge because remember, the predator doesn’t want to get caught.” She encourages women to walk with purpose, maintain awareness of their surroundings, know where exits are located within seconds of entering a building, lock vehicle doors immediately, and always have a response plan before something happens. “Have a plan. What am I going to do? Where are the exits? How am I going to get out of here?” Throughout the interview, Stacey returns repeatedly to the importance of using your voice. “When I teach women physical self-defense classes, I sometimes have issues getting them to use their voice. They feel, ‘I’m silly,’ or they’re shy. I need you to become a tiger or a lion because the guy that’s coming at you has a criminal mindset.” One of the strongest themes of our discussion is learning to trust intuition. Gavin de Becker’s landmark book The Gift of Fear, was discussed and he argues that our instincts often recognize danger before our conscious minds do. “Trust your instinct. Trust your gut. It’s so important.” She tells parents to teach their children the same lesson. “No is a one-word sentence. No means no. Say no and run.” Rather than encouraging people to become fearful, Stacey wants them to become intentional. “I don’t want you to live in fear. But you need to be aware.” We discuss numerous real-world situations that women encounter every day, including shopping centers, grocery stores, parking lots, gas stations, DoorDash deliveries, ride-share services, parks, jogging alone, and even sitting in your own driveway scrolling through your phone. Stacey points out that today’s criminals are increasingly sophisticated, posing as delivery drivers, utility workers, or even leaving seemingly harmless items such as money dropped on the ground, windshield wipers moved out of place, or objects on door handles to create distractions. Her advice remains remarkably practical: “Verify, verify. Do not open the front door of your house for a delivery person or a utility worker until you verify.” She also recommends limiting distractions. “The cell phone can be very helpful but it’s a huge distraction.” Instead, she encourages using technology wisely by sharing locations with friends and family, calling 911 immediately if something feels wrong, and trusting that internal warning system. Another phone trick is to put your camera on if someone is stalking you. “Turn around and say, ‘Do I know you? Do you need anything? and take a picture. If they hurry away, you know they weren’t up to any good.” One of Stacey’s most moving stories involves a woman who survived a brutal sexual assault and eventually found her way to Acadiana Karate. Initially unable to speak about what had happened, she slowly rebuilt both her confidence and her life through training. “She came out victorious. She got her life back.” Stacey also offers reassurance to anyone who has survived an attack. “You survived. You shouldn’t feel shame about that.” Although Stacey has earned national championships in martial arts competition and even performed stunt work on the television series Mortal Kombat: Conquest after being recruited from the national karate circuit, she emphasizes that most people will never need advanced martial arts techniques if they develop strong situational awareness. Stacey recommends simple, easy-to-use personal safety devices such as Birdie or Hootie personal alarms that emit a piercing sound to attract attention and create an opportunity to escape. She is less enthusiastic about pepper spray, guns or knives. “I’m not an expert on those tools. I don’t advocate for it. I’ve heard so many horror stories about the attacker grabbing it and turning it on you.” She also recommends an inexpensive glass breaker/seatbelt cutter device that can be used both in vehicle emergencies and, if necessary, to escape from a locked vehicle. Her philosophy ...
    続きを読む 一部表示
    45 分
  • Dr. Joe Abraham – Reading With Kids – Beginning in the Prenatal Period

    Dr. Joe Abraham – Reading With Kids – Beginning in the Prenatal Period
    2026/07/10
    For many of us, reading to a child feels like a cherished bedtime ritual. But what if the benefits begin long before birth? In this fascinating episode of Discover Lafayette, we visit with Dr. Joe Abraham, physician, research biologist, award-winning author, former president of the Lafayette Parish Library Foundation, and president of the Acadiana Educational Endowment, about the life-changing impact of reading with children beginning in the prenatal period. The Acadiana Educational Endowment, founded in 1989 to support public education across Acadiana, has invested more than $650,000 in educational initiatives over the years. Today, its primary focus is Reading With Kids, an initiative encouraging parents to read to children from pregnancy through the preschool years because, as Dr. Abraham believes, “children are the most precious thing in life.” Dr. Abraham’s passion for the project grew from decades practicing emergency medicine. After observing thousands of children, he began noticing a pattern. “I kept coming back to the ones who are cooperative. The ones who are inquisitive. The ones who are engaged, are read to.” He says he can often recognize these children before they can even speak. “I got to the point that I can spot a child at six months of age or earlier. The child is tracking. They’re listening.” “There’s this idea of fetal education. It’s well known in China and Korea. There’s recent research that if you read and talk to your child in the womb, particularly in the third trimester, they can show when they’re born that their brains are advanced. I will meet children who are just spooky smart at two, and they’ve been read to in the womb. Socioeconomic level is totally irrelevant.” That observation led him to explore decades of research connecting early language exposure with lifelong educational and social outcomes. Dr. Abraham explains that research indicates “60% of kids who are not prepared to read by the first grade will end up in jail or on welfare.” While many people have heard that reading proficiency by third grade predicts later success, Dr. Abraham argues that the foundation is laid much earlier, even before birth. He points to emerging research showing that babies exposed to language during pregnancy, particularly in the third trimester, demonstrate measurable neurological differences after birth. “They can show when they’re born that their brains are advanced.” One French study cited on the Reading With Kids website found that newborns whose mothers regularly read and spoke to them during pregnancy exhibited more advanced neural centers for language acquisition. Another ultrasound study observed babies moving their mouths in response to familiar spoken sounds spoken by the mother before birth. Yet Dr. Abraham repeatedly emphasizes that the science is only part of the story. “The child is not interested in the book. The child is interested in the warm body, the human that will protect them.” He believes reading creates a powerful emotional bond. “The bond between parent and child extends to the book.” This relationship, he explains, becomes what ultimately motivates children to learn. “Changing the world one child at a time“ Throughout our conversation, Dr. Abraham returns to one central theme: reading is about much more than literacy. When children are read to, they begin developing empathy, imagination, curiosity, and the ability to understand perspectives different from their own. “When you read, you slowly come to understand other people’s perspectives.” Reading, he says, becomes “the laboratory of the mind.” That perspective also shapes his concerns about modern society. “We live in a time in which people can’t talk anymore.” Dr. Abraham believes that reading helps people hold thoughtful conversations because it teaches them that disagreement does not necessarily mean someone is wrong; it often simply reflects a different perspective. Our conversation also explored what Dr. Abraham calls “book deserts.” In some communities, he says, there may be only one book available for every 300 children living there. To address that problem, Reading With Kids has collected more than 15,000 books that are distributed throughout Acadiana. Volunteers hand out books at community events, stock Little Libraries, and work with organizations including Kiwanis of Acadiana to place free books where families naturally gather, including laundromats, where children often spend hours waiting with parents. One story perfectly illustrates the demand. After bringing 800 children’s books to an Upper Lafayette event, volunteers didn’t even reach the first stoplight before every single book had been claimed. “The kids just grabbed the books.” The organization is also working with physicians and hospitals to make reading part of routine prenatal and pediatric care. Dr. Abraham hopes electronic medical records will soon ...
    続きを読む 一部表示
    49 分
  • Katie Ferguson – Choosing Purpose in the Face of Life’s Most Unexpected Challenges

    Katie Ferguson – Choosing Purpose in the Face of Life’s Most Unexpected Challenges
    2026/07/23
    Discover Lafayette welcomes Katie Ferguson, whose remarkable story is one of resilience, advocacy, and choosing purpose in the face of life’s most unexpected challenges. A Lafayette native, communications professional, and passionate community advocate, Katie has lived through two extraordinary journeys. First, she became the long term caregiver for an Army veteran whose life changed forever after a catastrophic spinal cord injury. Years later, while feeling completely healthy, a free heart screening uncovered a life threatening ascending aortic aneurysm caused by an undiagnosed congenital heart defect, leading to open heart surgery that ultimately saved her life. Katie approaches both experiences with remarkable clarity and compassion. As she explains, “Nothing happens without having purpose. When something happens to me, chances are it’s happening to someone else. And if I can shine a light on what they’re going through, if I’m able to help ease anyone’s journey, it’s worth it.” That philosophy has shaped her work as an Elizabeth Dole Foundation Fellow, where she advocates for military and veteran caregivers across the country, and as a spokesperson for heart health awareness through the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women initiative. Katie’s caregiving journey began in 2010 under circumstances she never could have imagined. She and Army officer Barry were casually dating and, by her own admission, were “kind of looking like we were going to break up” as he prepared to retire from military service and move overseas to launch a business. The day after signing his retirement paperwork, Barry suffered a devastating spinal cord injury after slipping from a rope swing into a sandbank, shattering his cervical spine and becoming immediately quadriplegic. Katie recalls receiving a call from a mutual friend before joining his family in the intensive care unit, beginning what she describes as “many, many waits in ICU rooms and hospital rooms and not knowing.” Rather than walking away from an uncertain future, Katie leaned in. “I loved him,” she says simply. As Barry progressed through months of rehabilitation in New Orleans, Lafayette, and Atlanta, the two began dating in earnest while he was still hospitalized. They eventually married, allowing Katie to become his full time paid caregiver after leaving her successful public relations career. “I gave up my career because this was much more important. This was all encompassing.” Her description of caregiving offers a rare, honest glimpse into the invisible work performed by millions of family caregivers every day. “You are literally trying to plan two steps ahead,” she explains, describing everything from helping with showers and medications to waking every three or four hours throughout the night to reposition Barry and prevent pressure sores. While the physical demands were immense, Katie says the mental burden proved even greater. “You don’t think about it when you’re going through it. You’re trying to survive. This is the hand you’re dealt, and you don’t have a choice in the matter. You put your head down and you make it work.” One of the most compelling parts of Katie’s story is that caregiving did not end when her marriage did. Although she and Barry divorced after twelve years, she remains his primary caregiver outside of the hours covered by home health services. She still helps several times each week and is often the first call when emergencies arise at night or on weekends. As she explains, “Whenever his breathing changes, I know what that means. Whenever his eye movement starts moving around, I know what those eye movements mean. Why would I not help somebody if I have the tools to make someone’s life a little bit better?” Katie also shares invaluable advice for caregivers navigating military systems and government bureaucracy. Persistence, she says, is essential. After spending two and a half years successfully appealing a Department of Defense financial decision, she learned that “everything has steps and you just have to go through the steps.” Perhaps more importantly, “You have to know the right question to ask… nobody will just volunteer the information to you. But if you go in and you say, ‘I need this particular form,’ or ‘I need help with this thing,’ they open up doors.” Her work with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation has given Katie an even broader perspective on military caregiving. She notes that seventy five percent of caregivers are not spouses, reminding us that caregiving is defined not by legal status but by love, compassion, and responsibility. She also highlights the foundation’s Hidden Heroes initiative, which recognizes caregivers serving behind the scenes, and the Hidden Helpers program, which acknowledges children who quietly shoulder caregiving responsibilities within military families. Katie’s second life changing chapter began ...
    続きを読む 一部表示
    52 分
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
まだレビューはありません