This is a topic that can be interpreted a number of ways. The literal meaning of course would be winning the lottery amounting to a large amount of money. This would be beneficial as it would enable financial security. Having a lot of money would allow one to have enough money for school, a house to live in, and enough funds to support a family one day and be able to sufficiently provide for them. Another way to look at hitting the jackpot is first of all,  having a job that one loves. This is a job that not only provides sufficient money, but also provides happiness and  success. At this early point in my career, I am on my way to achieving great success in my field. I am fortunate to have found a job as a dietitian rather quickly. Hitting the jackpot would be waking up most mornings and looking forward to the day ahead. Another aspect of hitting the jackpot is finding a person to spend the rest of one’s life with. This would be someone you can talk to about anything, enjoy spending time with, and love as a person. I am greatful to have an amazing boyfriend in my life. It is also important to have family and friends that will be their for you. I can say that I have great people in my life. Overall, I am on my way to hitting the jackpot- a successful job, a loving relationship, family & friends.

A teacher that is memorable to me is one of my nutrition professors in college, Dr. Hilpert. I had multiple classes with her during my college career and she taught me a lot about the career of dietetics. The important classes I had with her include a full year of medical nutrition therapy and nutrition through the lifespan. She was a great teacher who kept all her students entertained during class and motivated to learn inside and outside the classroom as well. She is also memorable to me because I had her as a teacher in a period of my education that was very crutial- during college and prior to applying for the competitive dietetic internship. She is kind, helpful, and truly wants her students to succeed in whatever ventures they endeavor. She also wrote a very nice recommendation letter for my internship applications which I will forever be greatful for. I always looked forward to going to Dr. Hilpert’s classes because I knew I would learn a lot of inportant information from her.  She had a teaching style that kept everyone interested in the topic at hand. She was a great professor and I will always remember what she has taught me.

As an RD, it has definitely crossed my mind to write a book about nutrition. There are so many books already on the market that it would need to be something unique. I would want my book to be personal and relatable to others. I would write a book about helping my family become healthy (as noted in my previous blog). This is something that is important to be and something I would want to share. I would include personal anecdotes about the difficulty of losing weight and the strategies to overcome this. It is important for people to know that it is possible to overcome their biggest fears and difficulties. Motivation is certainly important to any endeavor and thus motivation would be a focus of the book. Weight loss is never a quick fix for anything and it is necessary for people to understand this. There is no such thing as going on a “diet”, but instead focus should be on lifestyle changes which are to be made a little bit at a time. It is the small, gradual changes that lead to success. Finally, many RD’s write books about nutrition and weight loss because it is the field that they encompass, yet many have not had personal experience with weight struggle, either with themselves or their family members, and thus the attitude of these books are different. Having experience with weight issues in my family, puts myself in a situation to write a different kind of book with a personal touch.

– Kayla

People have many passions in their lives. Having something to be passionate about is important; it keeps people positive and looking towards the future. One of my passions is nutrition. This is why I chose the career path that I did. I am passionate about helping people reach their ideal weights and that they eat properly. At work I am usually trying to help residents gain weight, but at home, I am trying to help my parents lose weight and eat healthier. I am so passionate about this because health is extremely important. It is not something for people to take lightly; however, in this society with copious amounts of food along with the lack of exercise, it is difficult for many people to become motivated. Unfortunately, lack of motivation is difficult to overcome and makes it unlikely for people to make better choices about their health. It is my goal to educate my family and the people I work with about the importance of health and also the consequences that will result if improvements are not made. I want to be a positive impact in the lives of those I encounter and I also want to empower people to make good choices.

– Kayla

Choosing a career path can be difficult for some people but easy for others. When we enter college at the age of 18, it is expected that we should know what we want to do for the rest of our lives. This is a scary and daunting decision to make at such a young age. Some college students will begin school with a major and career path already decided, while many will begin school undecided upon which direction they want their career to go. For myself I knew early on what I wanted to do when I grew up. Ever since early on in high school, I knew I wanted to learn about nutrition and become a Registered Dietitian. It was something that was of interest to me. In my first semester of college I was able to begin taking courses pertaining to my major-dietetics. There was never a doubt that I wanted to switch majors and career path. After obtaining a bachelors degree, the next crutial step in becoming a Registered Dietitian is the dietetic internship. Everyone in my classes were frightened of the internshoip process and of whether they would get matched to a program. I was one of the few from my school who got into an internship. After the 10 month long internship, I was fortunate enough to find a job-at a nursing home. I have been at my job for over a year and enjoying it. I think back on all that I have been through to get to this point and I see how lucky I am to have a job in the career of my choice. I knew where I wanted my career path to go and I have accomplished those goals thus far.

– Kayla