Nutrition Personal Statement

I fell in love with nutrition and dietetics prior to knowing it was a field of study. I grew up as the only child and cite that as the cause for my poor food choices and oversized portions. My parents were like any other parents; they spoiled me and allowed me to eat McDonald’s, Burger King, and other fast foods. My obsession began at a very young age, but it was not until several events transpired. I can remember it like yesterday. I was in middle school, and we were having our quarterly physicals conducted by the school nurse. She measured me at four-foot nine inches and one hundred sixty-six pounds. I will never forget what she said, “Oh honey, you need to lose weight.” That affected me greatly; in fact, I still have body image issues to

I was twelve years old at the time and very active like any pre-teen. However, some might say I was ahead of my time because of I was concerned about my weight and wanted to become fit and muscular so much that I began reading food labels. I am forever in debt to the dietitian I met with because he taught and explained the importance of food labels to me. In the weight room, it was a unique atmosphere, sort of like the feeling one experiences in a barbershop. I was immediately fascinated by this culture as soon as I stepped in and soaked up everything: the language, knowledge, form, technique, and fashion. I recall watching and asking the more experienced individuals for advice because I wanted to get big like

Nevertheless, while I loved learning, knowledge alone was not satisfying. I yearned for practical ways to express my convictions accordingly. Suggested by my academic advisor in the fall of 2016, I volunteered at the Yale School of Nursing as part of ongoing research for the Bright 1 Bodies Program that assisted with teaching coping skills and taught diabetes self-management classes to adolescents between the ages of eleven and nineteen. I serve as an assistant teacher of exercise classes with games such as obstacle courses, sports drills, basketball, and Ultimate Frisbee. In addition, I gathered data and performed assessment on outcomes in regards to body composition analysis, survey instruments, physical fitness testing, blood sampling, and storing. I enjoyed working with the kids because I could relate. Most of the participants were either overweight or obese. Overall, these experiences have helped prepare me for my future