As many of you know, I have a real commitment to advancing the field of nutrition and dietetics. As part of that commitment, I truly believe in helping and teaching students. So, I am happy to share that this summer, nutrition checkup is taking on two new interns. They will not only be working with me on projects but also contributing to this blog. Please take a moment to read their introduction.
Introducing Robyn Theuer
Hello! My name is Robyn Theuer. I’d first like to say that I’m very excited to be doing this internship for Heather this summer. I hope to take tons of information and experiences from it.
After graduating high school, I attended Bloomsburg University as a Pre-Med student. I have always had a passion for helping people and I thought that becoming a doctor would be the best opportunity to do so. After thinking about my life however, I realized that I did not have the passion to go to medical school and I felt lost. After writing and speaking in my classes at Bloomsburg about the effects of fast food and the severity of child obesity, I decided to take the only nutrition class Bloomsburg had to offer as a fun elective to break up the biology classes. After a few days in the nutrition class I realized that I had a passion for eating right and I wanted to help other people learn that they can eat healthfully whilst actually enjoying their food. I decided to transfer to Penn State because of their well known nutrition program. After that, I fell in love; I love my classes and since the change, I have helped my friends and family by making them diet plans and just ways to improve their lives. I have always been athletic and health conscious because of my participation in track, cross country and intramural sports in college. I have worked on a vegetable farm for the past three years, so the change to nutrition is one which just makes sense for me.
I will be starting my senior year this coming fall semester. After graduation, I plan on applying for a dietetic internship to further my experience and eventually sit for my board exam to become a registered dietitian. In the future, I hope to land a job in community nutrition. I love cooking and one of my goals is to teach people how to use fresh, locally grown vegetables to make delicious, healthy food. I have a special spot in my heart for children, so I hope that one day I could work one-on one with kids and parents to help them lead healthier lives. I am excited to begin this internship and to learn more about how I can help other people!
Introducing Brandon Chu
Hi, my name is Brandon Chu. I grew up in a modest neighborhood, in a house with a family of thirteen, in Brooklyn, New York. With little income and little time, my parents only concentrated on maintaining housing expenses, saving for my college fund, and feeding me sufficiently. Feeding me sufficiently did not imply feeding me correctly. Thus, I grew up in an environment where the terms “nutrition” and “proper diet” did not exist, and quantity was more important that quality. Consequently I suffered from severe asthma and allergy symptoms, became sick frequently, and grew very slowly. My parents, who believed that the reason behind my poor health was because I did not eat enough, constantly pressured me to eat as much as possible. When I was twelve, I had become an over consumer, and I was proud of it. In middle school, I showed off how much I could eat during lunch without ever gaining a pound, by eating two lunches. Within a year, I had gained an extra twenty pounds. At 5’5”, I weighed about 150 lbs. Although I was not obese, I was certainly overweight, and being a chubby thirteen year old was no fun. My weight took a great toll on my self-esteem.
Today, I am no longer overweight. I no longer carry an inhaler for my asthma nor do I take any medication for allergies. I do not become ill more than approximately twice a year, and when I do, I take no longer than two days to recover. I bike every day, and last summer I ran the Delaware marathon. I have also eliminated fast food from my diet, and I drink almost nothing but water. All of the health issues that burdened me as a child were eliminated due to simple changes in my lifestyle and eating habits.
Often I wonder how my life would be different if I were to go back in time to teach thirteen year old Brandon everything I know today. Of course, that would be impossible, but in hindsight, I have no regrets. Everything happens for a reason, and had I not endured such complications with my health in the past, I would not be the nutritional enthusiast I am today. That is why I aspire to take my passion further, to establish a career out of it, so that I can prevent others from making the same mistakes I made six years ago.
In the near future, I intend to establish my own private practice, where I can provide nutritional consultation as well as physical therapy to my patients. It is important to understand how your body recovers mechanically as well as biologically, and that is why I also plan to pursue a doctorate in physical therapy after obtaining bachelors in science for nutrition. More importantly, my job will not simply be to heal my patients through my services, but to educate them as well. I want every patient to leave my practice as an accomplished student, confident about their understanding of proper nutrition.
As far as my long term aspirations are concerned, I see myself spending a great amount of time protecting our children. In the long run, I will not only be teaching children about proper nutrition and eating habits, but also their parents. I will do everything in my power to straighten this country’s priorities in the matter of proper health-care.
