Why this?:
Last year during my senior year of high school around this time in the year, I quickly developed a love for going to the gym and weightlifting. The biggest factor for my goals in gaining muscle mass and losing fat is all about diet. It is so important to know what we put into our bodies and how it affects us. I believe learning about nutrition, especially for someone who personally loves eating, is super important, not only for myself, but teaching others also. So many people want to start eating better for their bodies but have no idea how, and I want to be able to help and teach them just like how others did for me. There are also multiple fields I could go into with a degree in nutrition, I would not have to just stick to one thing like I would if I were to have chosen a different interest (occupational therapy). My interest in studying nutrition peaked last year, but in that time, I have also been able to explore a few other careers with internships and realized I was not interested in them (which is good). I could be a personal trainer, a dietician, work in the food industry, etc. There is a vast range of options available, which is always a positive thing in looking for jobs!
Professor:
I had my first interview with Professor Emily Estell who is the head of the nutrition program at UNE, and she had amazing insight on how to look at nutrition in the correct ways, and ways to avoid nutrition myths which are so common. “Nutrition is really the science of food, from the way we grow food, the way we process it, consume it, and digest it all impacts our health. People think it’s just about telling people to eat healthily and it’s so much more than that, it’s about the science behind it, it’s about education, it is about connecting people to food and where it comes from and connecting it to people’s health.”
“Nutrition is broader than you think it is, so when students get into nutrition, they think okay I only have so many career options, that can be overwhelming because you might not know which area you want to go into in nutrition and I always say first of all you don’t always have to know, and you don’t have to pick just one, your career can keep changing and you can keep trying new things.” I loved this quote because she explained to me that you do not have to know what you want to do at all to succeed in being a nutrition major, there is so much opportunity and variety based on how I would what to help people and even down to what age groups I can work with.
One of the other questions I asked which gave me a lot more information than I thought it would (she went into great detail) was, “Are there any useful minors to take with a nutrition major?” and after explaining three different minors I could take (social work, coaching, and public health), Professor Estell said, “Nutrition is broader than you think it is, so when students get into nutrition, they think okay I only have so many career options, that can be overwhelming because you might not know which area you want to go into in nutrition and I always say first of all you don’t always have to know, and you don’t have to pick just one, your career can keep changing and you can keep trying new things.” I loved the way she put this because she explained to me that you do not have to know what you want to do at all to succeed in being a nutrition major, there is so much opportunity and variety based on how I would what to help people and even down to what age groups I can work with.
Student 1:
I was having a hard time finding students to interview so I asked Professor Estell, and she recommended me two seniors in the nutrition club! What is even better about that is the first student I got to interview, Emily Cottis, is the president of the club. As a senior, she does not have her whole life planned out, but she had some amazing insight on nutrition and how she might want to use her degree for a job. My first question was “Why did you choose nutrition?”, and Emily told me “I came into college as a freshman as a Med Bio major then quickly found out that wasn’t for me, so I switched to nursing just because it was there, and my other friends were doing it, also found out that wasn’t for me quickly as well. But I had to take Nutrition 200 (a fundamental, very simple nutrition requirement class) and that’s kind of what started it all for me.” I loved hearing her say this because she found her passion on her third try for a major, she came in to school with an idea of med bio, didn’t like it, tried nursing, and found her passion for nutrition through nursing. Even though I’ve had the idea of studying occupational therapy for almost a year now, I also can see myself loving learning about nutrition.
Student 2:
Olivia Stewart was the other student I interviewed; she is the vice president of the nutrition club! I was very curious as to what her life outside of school looked like as a nutrition major as well as her academics to get the full idea, and she had wonderful responses for me. I asked her, “Do you do anything outside of class that is related to your major, any internships?” and Olivia responded with, “Now that I no longer play soccer and my work schedule has cleared up a bit, I’ve been able to get out in the community more. I have something in line for me to do, it’s called lunch ‘n learn that I have set up to do in Saco at a community center. This is for seniors in the community, and I get to choose a topic, go in and educate them on my specific topic.” I appreciated Olivia adding that she didn’t have much time in the past because of her jam-packed schedule makes complete sense. Knowing that could help me in the future decide what extracurricular activities to choose based on what I have time for, and how to manage it all.
School Work and Real-World work:
During my interview with Emily, I asked her what kinds of classes she has taken and what she might have to do in the future, and she gave me a very good list and explanations of all of them. Starting off with the easiest, fundamentals of healthy cooking is a class that nutrition majors get to take which is cooking food in UNE’s kitchen and eating it! Professor Estell also mentioned cooking classes like that which just sound amazing. Nutrition 220, also an easy class, it’s like an introduction to nutrition and a behind the scenes of things we just don’t know. Nutrition 200 is another requirement, which is food science, concepts and food safety. Emily said, “not my favorite class but it’s not necessarily hard either.” Bio 318 which is nutrition through the lifecycle, learning about how our bodies process and breakdown the foods we put into our bodies every day. After talking to all three people, they have shared with me many different career paths I could take with nutrition based on bachelor’s degree or masters. Dietitian, Athletic team nutritionist, personal trainer, cook, manager, and many more. I could work with those in need of mental health services, elders, athletes, and even children. There would be more options in the medical field with a master’s degree but that is a personal decision.
Reflection:
Before the interviews, I was not exposed to the variety of career paths I could choose from. What excites me about this major is I can work with a variety of ages, and in a variety of places; athletic teams, in a hospital, with teenagers to educate on how to create a healthy life with food. I’ve always wanted to help people, no matter if it is occupational therapy, dental hygiene, or nutrition. With a nutrition major I can expose people to the truth about food and all the science behind it and how it affects our bodies in order to destroy their thoughts on very common myths. Social media is a huge factor in how people view food and a healthy lifestyle. I do believe this is a good fit for me and it ties into the things I am passionate about. I would love to take the nutrition courses at UNE and explore behind the scenes all nutrition has to offer.
300 word reflection on project:
My original idea for this project was to focus on researching occupational therapy until I learned it is not an undergraduate program offered here at UNE. So instead, I chose the other major I have been considering pursuing which is nutrition. The interview with the professor was a little difficult to coordinate but not too hard. Professor Estell ended up giving me the two students to interview which was awesome of her to do. The first student Emily gave me a lot more insight and raw detail on what her life looks like as a nutrition major which was awesome as well. Olivia was great too, everything that was said by the three of them has helped me put being a nutrition major in perspective. Writing the paper in different sections helped me feel organized and on top of the paper, that kind of format is beneficial for me. The paper was relatively easy to write, and I enjoyed constructing it and laying out all the pieces of the project section by section. Before I presented in class, beforehand I was extremely nervous (just like everyone else) but I was trying to lay out what I was going to say in my head, the points I would bring up. I created a PowerPoint which was very helpful but after I was done presenting, I realized I was so nervous that I forgot to mention a bunch of things. There’s no changing it now obviously, but overall, the presentation itself wasn’t as bad as I thought it would have been, which is amazing. Even though I hate public speaking, I believe it was easier to do it in this class because I am comfortable with the people in that class and consider most of them friends or acquaintances, which was also very helpful. Overall, I enjoyed the project, and it helped me see which direction to go in!
