Important dates for the end of the school year!

Thurs. April 21st: April (LAST) SOND meeting! 

Where: FSCN 23

When: 5:30 or 6pm

Who: Soon to be announced

Free food! 

Mon. April 25th: LAST day for our Second Harvest Heartland Food and Fund Drive.Thank you to everyone who has supported this event. Don't worry about the amount of your contribution...with just $5, someone hungry near us get 50lbs of green beans! 

SONDies, please consider a last minute donation or share this link on your Facebook page: 

 http://support.2harvest.org/site/TR/FoodandFundDrive/FoodandFundDrives?px=1572358&pg=personal&fr_id=1290#.VqJnbpMrJPM

Thurs. April 28th: Deadline for SOND officer applications (PLEASE consider applying!) 

- A clear photo of yourself (portrait)
- Year in school and when you joined SOND
- Your goals and ideas for SOND next year
- A fun fact about you!

- Send to sond@umn.edu or moria102@umn.edu 

Thurs. April 28th: Deadline to RSVP for the SOND Mixer - Open to ALL interested students 

Sat. April 30th: Open Arms of MN volunteer event

Thurs. May 5th: SOND Professional Mixer!! 

Your SOND officers are happy to answer any questions or address concerns. 

Have a wonderful day! 

Apply to be a SOND officer for the 2016-2017 school year!

Are you interested in becoming a leader and an officer with SOND? This is a great opportunity for leadership, networking, fun, and outreach! 

Once we have applications submitted, we will host a SurveyMonkey poll for all of our members to anonymously vote on who they chose for their leaders for next school year. We will leave applications open for about 1 month! 

We ask that you submit a short paragraph (to Angela at moria102@umn.edu) to allow our members to read and get to know you! Please include:

- A clear photo of yourself (portrait please)
- Year in school and when you joined SOND
- Your goals and ideas for SOND next year
- A fun fact about you!

March Meeting Update

Kari Yorek Rd, LD at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview:
Position:
- Has covered pediatric weight management initially; now covers behavioral/OB/orthopedic surgery units
Advice: 
- The last 1.5 years of school are important! (Medical Nutrition Therapy, Counseling, Metabolism...)
- Try to work and volunteer during school
- Volunteering doesn't specifically need to be nutrition related, it shows involvement and dedication
- During the dietetic internship and job search, be OPEN MINDED - you never know where you will end up or what you will like doing; "you have nothing to lose, just be yourself"
- Be prepared to think on your toes and formulate plans quick in the clinical setting
- Taking a year off between undergraduate and the internship is O.K. and will help you grow and network for the future
- Be passionate, work hard, don't stress and always give 110%!


Liz Zaremba Rd, LD at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview:
Position:
- Transitional Care Center and Preceptor for M Health Dietetic Internship
Advice:
- Food is a medicine, but also a comfort and a culture
- Sociocultural nutrition is an important class, pay attention to cultural foods and dealing with interpreters
- Church mission trip to Guatemala - started teaching basic nutrition in Spanish, learned how to work independently and experience teaching about health
- 1 year experience working as an Advanced Nutrition Aide at UMMC may have looked the best on her resume
- There will be food service/food safety topics on the RD exam!
- The development of tough skin in the clinical setting is important and necessary
- Save your notes from Medical Nutrition Therapy
- Important to maintain a great attitude, professionalism, willingness to learn and to work hard during your interactions with people through the internship or job search

Both Kari and Liz most enjoy clinical units in transplants and tube feedings!

Please feel free to contact Kari at: kyorek1@Fairview.org
                                     and Liz at: ezaremb1@Fairview.org

Have some time to read over spring break? Check out the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' reading list for National Nutrition Month!

Follow this link for a nutrition-related reading list from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: http://www.eatright.org/~/media/eatright%20files/nationalnutritionmonth/handoutsandtipsheets/nutritiontipsheets/goodnutritionreadinglist.ashx

Welcome back students! Spring 2016 updates:

Our food drive has officially begun! This year, we have registered with Second Harvest Heartland of Minnesota to help end local hunger. This food drive will be running from Monday, January 25th - Monday, April 25th. Our current goal is 60lbs - but with the addition of a new virtual food drive, we hope to extend that goal!

A donation box will be located in the Food Science & Nutrition office on the second floor (Suite 225) starting Monday, January 25th.

Here is a quick list of some most needed items:

• Canned tuna, ham or chicken, beef stew, chili, peanut butter, canned/dried beans
• 100% fruit juice, canned fruits and vegetables, instant potatoes
• Pasta and sauce, boxed meals, hearty soups
• Cereal, rice
• Low-sodium, low-sugar, gluten-free foods

There is also a virtual addition to our food drive, where you are able to online shop for groceries that will be delivered directly to Second Harvest! Please check out the link:

http://support.2harvest.org/site/TR/FoodandFundDrive/FoodandFundDrives?px=1572358&pg=personal&fr_id=1290#.VqJnbpMrJPM


Help us end hunger in Minnesota! Your donations are extremely appreciated.

November Meeting Update

Notes from the graduate student panel: 

Kaela Pittman: pitt0162@umn.edu

• Masters of Science in Nutrition (2 year)
• Plan B with The Emily Program internship  
• Undergraduate degree in nutrition/dietetics 
• Sports nutrition focus 

Sydney Boehnlein: boeh0191@umn.edu 

• Masters of Science in Nutrition (1 year completion) 
• Plan B with The Emily Program internship
• Undergraduate degree in nutrition/dietetics 
• Sports nutrition focus 

Hannah Trasser: trass003@umn.edu

• Masters of Public Health Nutrition (non-coordinated track)
• Undergraduate degree in Psychology  

Rebecca Leighton: leigh142@umn.edu

• Masters of Pubic Health Nutrition, coordinated track (with dietetic internship)
• Undergraduate degree in nutrition/dietetics 

Highlighted Q & A: 

How did you find an advisor for graduate school?

Know what you are interested in ~ look into professors current research, start early, hold informational interviews, have a formulated plan, use your personal connections, don't burn bridges with professors. 

What are the Nutritional Science program tracks? 

Plan A : More research, science - aimed towards future completion of PhD

Plan B: More open to what you want to do, along with dietetic internship afterwards. (Have great time management skills and know what you want to focus on.)

How to apply for T.A. position: 

Talk to Dave Smith as early as possible - work together on coordinating similar interests with current professors. 

How important is your GRE score?

Focus on getting at least average - do your best! 

What strengthens grad school applications?

Long term experience, volunteer work, connections. Knowing what you're going to bring to the program, knowing what you want from the program and what you want to do with it. 

How is graduate different than undergraduate school?

You are taking classes you love, are able to apply knowledge from undergrad and real world situations, hands on learning experiences, less memorizing and cramming (less exams!), smaller more engaging class sizes, skills and knowledge taught are relevant and applicable.

I am interesting in the Masters of Public Health nutrition, where should I gain volunteer experience? 

Second Harvest Heartland (http://www.2harvest.org/?referrer=https://www.google.com/#.Vkn409-rSCQ)

Farm to School programs (http://nutritionservices.mpls.k12.mn.us/about)

Open Arms (http://www.openarmsmn.org/) 

Local Food Banks

Advice?

Be confident, true to yourself, know what you want!

Please feel free to email these students, or SOND, with any of your questions! 

Welcome SOND Members! ~ October 2015 Meeting Update

Last Thursday we had a great turn out as we welcomed Alexis Weisser and Renee Korczak as speakers for our October meeting. Here is a recap of the things they talked about, along with their contact information.

Alexis got married the summer after finishing her BS-nutrition and dietetics degree here at the U. She found a strong interest in foodservice her senior year, and was able to get a job at a senior living home in Maplewood that recently opened, for where she operates the kitchen full time as the dietary manager. The community is continually growing, and Alexis currently cooks 3 meals a day for 11 patients, > 62 years in age. She handles all the cooking, baking, budgeting, inventory, ordering and kitchen staff hiring.  Alexis was able to find a mentor throughout the facilities opening process, a dietary manager from a different location, to help her with all these new experiences.
One of Alexis' favorite things about this position is the menu planning because it allows her to use her creativity skills. This position is rewarding to her because she is building relationships with the residents and they can be very complimentary. In addition, everyday is different for her, she gets to create her own menu and there is a lot of positive teamwork within the facility.
Alexis mentioned that developing thick skin is important for this specific and other positions dealing with a variety of people. She stressed the importance of focusing on the population you're dealing with to be able to understand where they are coming from, what they want and what they need.

Renee had a passion for food and nutrition at a very young age. She immediately saw how nutrition can make a difference in the lives of the people around her. She completed her undergraduate degree in Connecticut and had plans to go onto medical school. After these plans fell through, she got a job at Kraft foods where she worked on the development of  low fat Oreos and created food labels. Renee went on the Grad school for a masters in nutrition from Boston. Here Renee volunteered with diabetes patients, was turned off by the medical school life and found passion for research, education and food. After her masters program, Renee started working for Nestle in regulatory affairs, where she labeled baby food and sports nutrition products while also working with dietitians in the call center. She found that food industry was a great and expanding place to work and when she connected with Joanne Slavin, professor at the University of Minnesota, Renee got involved in research and completed her PhD here while also completing her didactic internship through Iowa State. After being unsatisfied with going back to work at Nestle, she came back to MN to co-teach and create her own company - where she stands today!
Renee told us that experience is very important, and no matter where we work, we will be gaining transferable skills. She highly recommends finding a mentor and making connections everywhere you go.


Please feel free to contact both Alexis and Renee!

Alexis Weisser: lunde334@umn.edu
Renee Korczak: korcz005@umn.edu