Meet Jill and Read Her Inspiring Story

In 2009, I graduated from St. Lawrence University with a degree in English. Having focused my undergraduate studies in writing by the time I had graduated I had completed several editorial internships at a handful of publishing houses in New York and London. After graduation, I immediately joined the marketing department at Lilly Pulizer as an intern and eventually started to work at Parents Magazine in ad sales.  If someone were to have asked me at the time where I saw myself in five years…the answer was definitely not studying nutrition and dietetics to become a registered dietitian.  However, secretly when I wasn’t at work I was searching the web to learn about careers in nutrition, and schools with dietetic programs. I learned about careers for registered dietitians and absorbed the various possible paths I could take to get involved in the nutrition field.  I knew that if I wanted to go back to school, complete the required coursework for the dietetic internship and become a registered dietitian, it was not going to be easy.  I also knew that I needed to make a career change, and when I asked myself where I wanted to see myself in five years I wanted the answer to be an expert in dietetics and practicing clinical nutrition.

In January 2011, I started as a full-time nutrition and dietetics student at Simmons College in Boston, MA. Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Biology, and Introduction to Nutrition….is the start to a long list of pre-requisite courses required for the Didactic Program in Dietetics. Having focused my undergraduate studies as an English major with a concentration in writing the only science class I took in undergrad was environmental science! Yikes, what was I getting myself into! Could I really go back to school and take undergrad classes all over again? I don’t let these intimidating courses trap me and limit me from making the one of the most important decisions I have made in my twenty-four years. As someone who once was a writer and has overcome creative blocks when faced with a blank sheet of lined paper, I have taken on the same approach to the extensive list of prerequisite courses I need in order to become a dietitian and expert in nutrition.

As I continue to travel down a road that will lead me to my passions I hope to share some advice to those who are contemplating a career change too. I think it’s a great idea to make a list of why you need a change, and then make a second list of all your passions and skills. Meanwhile, make sure to explore all the career ideas that you see possible; don’t let time prevent you from pursuing your career and passion. Eventually, make a clear path by realizing that it is possible for you to do whatever you like. Look at where you are now, and look at where you want to see yourself…and build a possible path by working backwards.

As I begin to blog for All Access Internships and share tips about the career changes in the nutrition and dietetic fields I hope to highlight many of my exciting experiences and motivations during my second round of school. 

-Jill