It's Black History Month and Marva Wheeler shares her history in Washington County Virginia as a child of segregation, but also a person with outstanding musical talent. That didn't mean she avoided racial discrimination. She shares her story in hopes that the lessons of inequality can prevent future racism.

Valentyn Boychuck is a foreign exchange student who left Ukraine to be a student at Abingdon High School. The program that brought him here is the FLEX program through the U.S. Department of State.

This 15-year-old share stories about the struggles of life in war-torn Ukraine including friends and family members who have served in the military and also how he loves his country and wants to share that story.

The interview ends with a conversation with Karen Reid, the area coordinator with the World Heritage program, who wants listeners to consider hosting a foreign exchange student. She says the benefits of learning, growing family connections, and contributing to making the world better are waiting.

More information is available at

https://www.world-heritage.org/

Ben Davis, an Emory & Henry graduate, who lives in Santa Monica, California, shares his experience living through the wildfires that burned tens of thousands of acres in January 2025. With evacuation notices for his neighbors four blocks away, Ben and others in his apartment building evacuated as well. When they looked outside, the view was a wall of inferno nearby in the Palisades area.

We hear about families who lost homes, the smoky air, efforts to find a hotel room, and the challenges that make some question whether they should stay in southern California or move away. For Ben Davis, it's not a question. He loves his life on the west coast and doesn't intend to go anywhere. He also revisits his time and study at Emory & Henry, calling the decision to go there the best one of his life. Always good to hear. Thanks, Ben.

David King converted from Old-Order Amish beliefs to Pentecostal Apostolic beliefs.

His journey began with his birth in an Amish community in Lancaster Pennsylvania. As an adult, he began questioning the religious commitment in his community and eventually moved to Abingdon, Virginia where he is now known as a prominent farmer who sells his goods at the Abingdon Farmers Market.

He describes the joys he found in early farm life without the help of motorized vehicles or other modern conveniences, and describes how his spiritual search led him to become Pentecostal at the expense of being shunned by his family and friends.

Since age 39, David has been driving motorized vehicles and embracing more worldly endeavors, including becoming a consultant for installation of residential solar energy systems.

David provides a fascinating journey of seeking spirituality that is also detailed in a book about his life, entitled Amish to Apostolic by Audrey Feigl.

She's the Chief of Police for Emory & Henry University. Yancey Wilmoth.

In This Conversation, she talks about intense Police Academy Training that helped her prevail in an incident where a man attempted to evade arrest. In contrast, she talks about the skills involved in communicating with children, and she tells the story helping a family in distress that became one of the most rewarding experiences of her career.

A new national research project into collard greens is underway and is based on work done for a book by Emory & Henry Professor Ed Davis and his co-author Professor Emeritus John Morgan.

Ed's book is called Collards: A Southern Tradition from Seed to Table.

In this episode of This Conversation, he reviews the culture of collards and recounts his pilgrimage over thousands of miles to find heirloom collard greens.

His book -- and heirloom collard seeds -- can be found through the website Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

An area company is leading the world in saving us from plastic waste.

Eastman Chemical in nearby Kingsport, TN is now operating the world's largest chemical recycling facility.

Eastman has reduced its carbon footprint by 80% with a goal of zero carbon input into the environment. The company is partnering with other major corporations, such as Pepsi and Proctor and Gamble to reduce plastic waste. In this episode, Eastman Executive VP Brad Lich describes the planning and the process for an endless loop of reusing plastic.

Monroe Preston attended the Glade Spring Elementary School during segregation. The school was commonly referred to as the "colored school." Preston has led a campaign that resulted in the posting of a state highway marker to commemorate the school and its teachers. In this interview, Preston describes the school and its dedicated teachers, along with the many successes of those who attended there.