December Issue 2023

W H A T M A D E Y O U W A N T T O
P U R S U E T H E C A R E E R / D E G R E E
T H A T Y O U H A V E ?
Her dad was diagnosed with type 2
diabetes when she was in high school.
She would go with her dad to meet with
his dietitian to discuss the foods and
lifestyle choices he needed to make with
his new diagnosis. She said that opened
her eyes to how food can affect your
health and help to manage a disease.
So, after meeting with her dad’s dietitian,
she knew that was what she wanted to
do.
D I D Y O U A L W A Y S K N O W T H A T
Y O U W A N T E D T O B E A P A R T O F A
U N I V E R S I T Y O R A P R O F E S S O R ?
She did not always know that she
wanted to be a professor. When she went
into community dietetics, she was the
lead preceptor and created all of the
assignments and rotations for the
students. “I noticed a gap in their
education levels when they got to me.” At
that point, she realized that she wanted
to be on the educational side of all of this
and help the students and get rid of
those gaps.
30
W H A T D O Y O U F E E L H A S
B E E N T H E B I G G E S T
C H A L L E N G E I N T H I S F I E L D ?
“Lack of diversity.” She said that because
of the lack of diversity in this field, there is
a lack of services being provided to
patients. With the lack of diversity,
patients may struggle to feel that
connection and share those similarities
with their dietitians.
W H A T A D V I C E D O Y O U H A V E
F O R T H O S E C U R R E N T L Y
P U R S U I N G A D E G R E E I N
D I E T E T I C S ?
“The field of dietetics and nutrition is a
very rewarding and fulfilling career.” She
says that if you are passionate about
nutrition and learning the science behind
food then this is a good career choice for
you. As for studying, she says that it can
be hard and intense. However, being
able to have time management and
being able to justify your evidence for
your conclusion is key. Many people do
not realize that this is a science-based
major.
C A N Y O U T E L L U S A F U N F A C T
A B O U T Y O U R S E L F T H A T M A N Y
P E O P L E M A Y N O T K N O W ?
In every country and/or state she visits,
she takes a cooking class. She has taken
classes in places like Italy, Belgium, Brazil,
France, and more. She is also a Zumba
instructor.