I graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition in May. While there, I was also on the UMass Division 1 Track and Field team. Being an athlete naturally sparked my passion for sports nutrition. Additionally, as an undergraduate, my time and efforts were split between academics and athletics. While making decisions about my future, and the internship specifically, I felt that I wanted to spend more time focusing on academics before entering the profession. Those are just two of the reasons that I decided to enter FSU’s combined Masters in Science in Sports Nutrition and Dietetic Internship program. There are, of course, many more factors and reasons that went into my decision making process, and I hope to tell you all about them as I blog for AAI!
I am very excited to share my experience with the AAI blog followers so that undergraduate students can get another insight to post-graduation career options. During my undergraduate studies, I was under the impression that there were only two options: Go on to be an RD or do not. To be honest, it wasn’t until my senior year when I began searching myself that I realized there is SO much more to this profession. And even now, as I am about to embark on my 2+ year journey to a M.S. and D.I, I have absolutely no idea what I am getting myself into! Through all my researching and networking I have not met one peer who has gone through a combined program. Hopefully by writing this blog I can reach out to those of you who are considering either a master’s degree or a combined program and give you some insight into what it may be like!
Last August was when I did the majority of my research about internships. One year ago it was very difficult and stressful to look at a list of 200+ internships and narrow it down to just a handful. Yet, somehow, here I am today! So for those of you currently going through the internship researching process my advice for you right now is:
- Take this time to truly think about yourself and your goals. Ignore everything that anybody around you is saying; your teachers, parents, classmates, the media, and only think about what YOU enjoy doing, what YOU feel you are best at, and what YOU can see yourself doing in the future. Chose the path that makes you smile and get jitters just by talking about it! (Hopefully it involves dietetics, but if it doesn’t then it is better to discover that now then later!)
- Next, once you make a decision, stick with it! Have confidence in yourself. With so many options out there, it is easy to second-guess and have doubts about your choice. However, the fact that a conclusion was reached should be reason enough that it is a good choice. Even if in the end it may not have been the right decision, it is not the end of the world; you will have time throughout your career to try something else, go back to school, or get more experiences.
Hi Lindsey!
ReplyDeleteI am also in a combined MS/DI program at Southern Illinois University. I am in my 2nd yr in grad school and will be finished with it in Dec then I will start the DI part in Jan. There are some hardships at time and the fact that the majority of your classmates from undgrad might have their RD before you might start your DI. However, even though it takes two years of your life to complete, it is definitley worth it in the end for ending up with a MS and RD.
~Kathryn