What inspired or interested you about your field of study?

I love nutrition and I love working with people — dietetics is a great blend of the two. I chose to do this internship so I can become certified as a registered dietitian and make a career out of what I love.

I chose Oregon State's dietetics program and internship because it offers so many clinical and counseling practice locations.

What did you work on during your internship?

I worked with dietitians in hospitals, primary care clinics, outpatient practice settings and community health organizations.

I have conducted nutrition counseling sessions, food service management evaluation projects, public health research and social media outreach, and medical nutritional therapy care.

By the end of this internship, I will be qualified to take the exam to become a registered dietitian.

What do you see as the greatest value of your internship?

Working with dietitians and other health care professionals has given me amazing insight into a wide variety of different approaches to patient interactions.

Each dietitian's unique perspective and individual style of counseling has not only allowed me to better understand dietetics in general, but has allowed me to better reflect on the kind of dietitian I want to be.

What are your post-college dreams?

I plan to start working as soon as possible. I love inpatient dietetics, and it can be a starting point for many different clinical specialties within dietetics, so I am hoping to secure an inpatient position.

Of course, I still need to take the certification exam, so I still have quite a bit of studying to do after I graduate.