AUBURN — Sarah Desmond sent her father a photograph of a leaf.

It was a simple red leaf she found while exploring the Maine woods. Her dad lives in Texas. He didn’t get it.

“You have to understand,” the 22-year-old Desmond said. “I’ve never seen a leaf of this color. In Texas, we have two shades of colors on our leaves, green and brown.”

That’s why she’s here, you know. To discover things. That’s what brought her Wednesday night to the Hilton Garden Inn for Candid Candidates, a political meet and greet for young professionals.

Desmond studied at the University of Texas. Other than some time in France where she finished her degree, her whole life has been spent in the Lone Star State. So on the advice of a friend at the University of Maine, she drove all the way up here to see what the rest of the country looked like, to sample the culture of the North.

“There’s just so much to see,” Desmond said. “I didn’t want to just live in Texas and work in Texas. Not before I get a chance to see more.”

Someday, she might like to work right here in Maine. So part of her exploration involves getting a whiff of the political climate. A Democrat, Desmond went to a Chamber of Commerce breakfast recently where she met plenty of the local movers and shakers. Her first impression?

“It was amazing to hear all the people who will tell you that they’re not really politicians. They want you to see them as just regular people,” Desmond said. “It’s not like that in Texas.”

The banquet hall at the Hilton Garden Inn felt almost like an informal party hosted by a couple dozen candidates, out and about in a hot political season. But their guests were members of Young People of the Lewiston-Auburn Area, young professionals who would not settle for cocktails and hors d’ouevres alone.

They had questions and they wanted answers.

“It’s a combination meet and greet with a question-and-answer session at the end,” said Kevin Fletcher of the Betterment Committee. “It’s a way to educate people and let them base their decisions on the information they get here tonight.”

Some of the guests were young, like Sarah. Others had been around a while.

“I’m still under 40 for a few more years,” said Fletcher, 36. “I still qualify as a young professional.”

The gathering was also a good way for groups to make sure politicians wouldn’t forget them. Audrey Chapman, executive director of the local 4-H Foundation, was there. Chapman happens to be married to Rep. Michael Carey, but she had her own work to do.

“We always want the candidates to be aware of 4-H and all the good work we do,” she said.

Sarah Desmond mingled. So far, she said, she likes Maine. She plans to stay through the winter and look for a job. She’s into corporate communications, but she isn’t limiting herself.

“I mostly care more about the people I work for,” Desmond said, “more than the business that they do. I want to work for someone I can be proud of.”

A dangerous thing to say in a room full of politicians. Professional hand-shakers are famous for saying anything, promising anything to get someone on their side.

What weighed heavily on Desmond’s mind, though, was not something that could be easily fixed.

“I’ve never seen snow,” she said. “I have no concept of the cold I’m about to experience. I’m a little bit intimidated.”

And though the current political climate is as desperate as it’s ever been, not a single candidate in the room was bold enough to promise winter away.

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