Make your money work for you! I work hard to earn money, save my money, and then invest whatever I can. For now, I can only invest small amounts due to living costs and education costs.

Currently, I am working to complete my master's degree so I can soon become a Registered Dietitian. In my studies, we learn how natural foods fuel our bodies and how we can use that to our advantage in healthcare. knew I wanted to work in the healthcare field because of the impact you can have on the lives of people in your community. Poor health takes so many innocent lives and breaks apart families and if there is a way for me to help, that is what I want to do. I chose nutrition because lifestyle and food choices play a huge part in overall health, but most importantly, disease prevention. Doctors and nurses are vital to healthcare, but their role lies in curing current ailments. I want to prevent the ailments from happening in the first place through nutrition counseling and education. If I decide to work in a clinical setting, my main goal would be to educate sick patients and advise them on how to reframe their lifestyle in order to keep them from having to ever come back to the hospital. Throughout my undergraduate career, I was able to volunteer often in the Raleigh community. In my nutrition club, we would go to food banks, festivals centered around health to educate about nutrition, and my favorite, the community teaching garden. I loved going to the teaching garden and helping create a better learning environment for those in the Raleigh food desert. I was able to supplement the teaching for local families who were learning to grow their own healthy vegetables. It was great to see how something so small as a box of dirt and some seeds could make such a huge difference! Once COVID hit, I was not able to go for a while but in the fall of 2020, they opened it back up. This was the perfect opportunity to volunteer as an individual and during COVID since it was outdoors. A lot of community organizations suffered and are still suffering due to lack of volunteers during this time so I was glad to be able to help in some capacity. Ideally, I will one day be financially stable enough to offer my services as a Registered Dietitian for free or of low charge so I can help those in marginalized communities that lack access to healthcare and nutrition services. There are areas, such as the Raleigh food desert, where people struggle to access both healthy food and proper healthcare. By helping them create a healthy lifestyle now, whether that is through another community garden, education, or health services, I can help save them the financial burden of hospital bills in the future. All in all, I have hope that my passion for nutrition and disease prevention will one day come full circle. The sacrifices I am making now to get a thorough education will pay off and I can make an even bigger impact on my local community and outwards as a nutrition professional. I hope to inspire others to also utilize nutrition in tackling the issue of rising chronic disease rates throughout the world. With healthcare being mainly focused on curing ailments rather than preventing them, this is one way to evolve the way the healthcare community views nutrition and disease prevention.

Currently, I am working to complete my master's degree so I can soon become a Registered Dietitian. I knew I wanted to work in the healthcare field because of the impact you can have on the lives of people in your community. Poor health takes so many innocent lives and breaks apart families and if there is a way for me to help, that is what I want to do. I chose nutrition because lifestyle and food choices play a huge part in overall health, but most importantly, disease prevention. Doctors and nurses are vital to healthcare, but their role lies in curing current ailments. I want to prevent the ailments from happening in the first place through nutrition counseling and education. If I decide to work in a clinical setting, my main goal would be to educate sick patients and advise them on how to reframe their lifestyle in order to keep them from having to ever come back to the hospital. Throughout my undergraduate career, I was able to volunteer often in the Raleigh community. In my nutrition club, we would go to food banks, festivals centered around health to educate about nutrition, and my favorite, the community teaching garden. I loved going to the teaching garden and helping create a better learning environment for those in the Raleigh food desert. I was able to supplement the teaching for local families who were learning to grow their own healthy vegetables. It was great to see how something so small as a box of dirt and some seeds could make such a huge difference! Once COVID hit, I was not able to go for a while but in the fall of 2020, they opened it back up. This was the perfect opportunity to volunteer as an individual and during COVID since it was outdoors. A lot of community organizations suffered and are still suffering due to lack of volunteers during this time so I was glad to be able to help in some capacity. Ideally, I will one day be able to offer my services as a Registered Dietitian for free or of low charge so I can help those in marginalized communities that lack access to healthcare and nutrition services. There are areas, such as the Raleigh food desert, where people struggle to access both healthy food and proper healthcare. By helping them create a healthy lifestyle now, I can save them the financial burden of hospital bills in the future. All in all, I have hope that my passion for nutrition and disease prevention will one day come full circle. The sacrifices I am making now to get a thorough education will pay off and I can make an even bigger impact on my local community and outwards as a nutrition professional. I hope to inspire others to also utilize nutrition in tackling the issue of rising chronic disease rates throughout the world. With healthcare being mainly focused on curing ailments rather than preventing them, this is one way to evolve the way the healthcare community views nutrition and disease prevention.

Throughout my undergraduate career, I was able to volunteer often in the Raleigh community. In my nutrition club, we would go to food banks, festivals centered around health to educate about nutrition, and my favorite, the community teaching garden. I loved going to the teaching garden and helping create a better learning environment for those in the Raleigh food desert. I was able to supplement the teaching for local families who were learning to grow their own healthy vegetables. It was great to see how something so small as a box of dirt and some seeds could make such a huge difference! Once COVID hit, I was not able to go for a while but in the fall of 2020, they opened it back up. This was the perfect opportunity to volunteer as an individual and during COVID since it was outdoors. A lot of community organizations suffered and are still suffering due to lack of volunteers during this time so I was glad to be able to help in some capacity. Currently, I am working to complete my master's degree so I can soon become a Registered Dietitian. I knew I wanted to work in the healthcare field because of the impact you can have on the lives of people in your community. Poor health takes so many innocent lives and breaks apart families and if there is a way for me to help, that is what I want to do. I chose nutrition because lifestyle and food choices play a huge part in overall health, but most importantly, disease prevention. Doctors and nurses are vital to healthcare, but their role lies in curing current ailments. I want to prevent the ailments from happening in the first place through nutrition counseling and education. If I decide to work in a clinical setting, my main goal would be to educate sick patients and advise them on how to reframe their lifestyle in order to keep them from having to ever come back to the hospital. Ideally, I will one day be financially stable enough to offer my services as a Registered Dietitian for free or of low charge so I can help those in marginalized communities that lack access to healthcare and nutrition services. There are areas, such as the Raleigh food desert, where people struggle to access both healthy food and proper healthcare. By helping them create a healthy lifestyle now, I can save them the financial burden of hospital bills in the future. All in all, I have hope that my passion for nutrition and disease prevention will one day come full circle. The sacrifices I am making now to get a thorough education will pay off and I can make an even bigger impact on my local community and outwards as a nutrition professional. I hope to inspire others to also utilize nutrition in tackling the issue of rising chronic disease rates throughout the world. With healthcare being mainly focused on curing ailments rather than preventing them, this is one way to evolve the way the healthcare community views nutrition and disease prevention.

Currently, I am working to complete my master's degree so I can soon become a Registered Dietitian. I knew I wanted to work in the healthcare field because of the impact you can have on the lives of people in your community. Poor health takes so many innocent lives and breaks apart families and if there is a way for me to help, that is what I want to do. I chose nutrition because lifestyle and food choices play a huge part in overall health, but most importantly, disease prevention. Doctors and nurses are vital to healthcare, but their role lies in curing current ailments. I want to prevent the ailments from happening in the first place through nutrition counseling and education. If I decide to work in a clinical setting, my main goal would be to educate sick patients and advise them on how to reframe their lifestyle in order to keep them from having to ever come back to the hospital. Ideally, I will one day be financially stable enough to offer nutrition services for free or low-charge so I can help those in marginalized communities that lack easy access to healthcare. By helping them create a healthy lifestyle now, I can save them the financial burden of hospital bills in the future.

Currently, I am working to complete my master's degree so I can soon become a Registered Dietitian. I knew I wanted to work in the healthcare field because of the impact you can have on the lives of people in your community. Poor health takes so many innocent lives and breaks apart families and if there is a way for me to help, that is what I want to do. I chose nutrition because lifestyle and food choices play a huge part in overall health, but most importantly, disease prevention. Doctors and nurses are vital to healthcare, but their role lies primarily in curing current ailments. I want to prevent the ailments from happening in the first place through nutrition counseling and education. If I decide to work in a clinical setting, my main goal would be to educate sick patients and advise them on how to reframe their lifestyle in order to keep them from having to ever come back to the hospital. Ideally, I will one day be financially stable enough to offer services for free or low-charge so I can help those in marginalized communities that lack access to healthcare and nutrition services. By helping them create a healthy lifestyle now, I can save them the financial burden of hospital bills in the future.

Staying fit has imporved and sustained my mental health possibly even more than my physical health. I began running cross country in middle school because my friends signed up. Prior to that, I had never even heard of the sport! I ran in order to have fun with friends, but it quickly turned into a passion that I have continued ever since. In high school, I struggled mentally under a lot of academic pressure due to our school environment and found being active as my sole relief and outlet. Going to practice and running, no matter how difficult the workout, would often be the only time in the day that I laughed or smiled. Being outdoors and working on my physical health with friends offered an immense relief from the academic pressure I was facing. Through my participation in cross country, I made lasting friendships and boosted my physical health simultaneously. Since, my mental health has greatly improved and I have continued my fitness journey. I joined the club cross country team at my university and started weight lifting as well. Working out has always been my most reliable stress reliever, confidence booster, and social time. The impact that fitness had on my life in high school resulted in a deep interest in nutrition. This inspired me to major in nutrition and psychology in college. After my first semester, I knew I made the right choice. I loved learning about the overlooked details of nutrition that have a huge impact on our bodies. I was able to use what I learned in my major to enhance my fitness as well. I worked hard throughout my undergraduate career, studying to keep a high GPA while working two jobs, finding nutrition-related experiences, and of course, maintaining my physical health through running and weight lifting. I was able to graduate this December 2020, a semester early, to save some money on tuition. However, my fitness and nutrition journey is not over yet. I am working in a local hospital as a diet clerk to pay off as much of my student loans as possible until I enroll in graduate school in the fall. My goal is to become a Registered Dietitian after graduate school. As an RDN, I hope to promote healthy living and fitness in order to improve quality of life and prevent serious chronic diseases and illnesses. I know firsthand that being fit and healthy can not only improve one's physical health, but their mental and social health as well. I want to be able to make this impact on other people and inspire change. With out healthcare industry so focused on treating illnesses rather than preventing them, depression and chronic diseases such as obesity is on a steady rise in the U.S. I plan to play a part in changing how we view health and what it takes to lower the prevalence of many common chronic diseases.