SPORTS NUTRITION PRACTICUM
Sports Nutrition Volunteer
As a sports nutrition volunteer, it was my job to manage three fueling stations including serving student-athletes before and after workouts, stocking, managing inventory, and receiving deliveries.
I also provided nutrition education to student-athletes through social media posts, special events, flyers, email blasts, and newsletters.
Flyer: Cast Iron Cooking Tip
COMMUNITY NUTRITION
Community Intervention & Assessment Project
My team and I conducted a community needs assessment for the senior population in Cheverly, Maryland. After identifying areas of concern (hypertension and high cholesterol), we assessed the available resources and identified gaps.
Then we designed an intervention program and presented our findings.
Nutrition Assessment
Team Assessment Research Project
In a group, we completed a nutritional assessment study. We looked at vegetarian/vegan eaters and compared them to meat-eaters in an effort to see which diet was optimal in decreasing the instances of the common cold in college-age students. We needed a minimum of 15 volunteers as study subjects.
After standing outside, on a cold day, in front of the main campus library for about four hours, we were able to find enough participants. We requested dietary information and took two anthropometric measurements from each subject. My group completed a research project proposal, literature review, and an Institutional Review Board (IRB) Application and Consent Form. We presented our research findings to our peers.
FOOD SERVICE OPERATIONS
Empowering Communities Project
As part of the Food Service course, I participated in a faculty research project with the goal to empower Maryland seniors to manage their hypertension through an intervention using the Community-Based Participatory Research framework. To support the research and intervention, I worked with a group to write a literature review regarding hypertension among the elderly in Baltimore County, Maryland.
To understand the unique dietary needs of this population and to practice food preparation techniques, our group tested recipes that will be given to the study participants. The recipes included breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a dessert. A nutrition analysis was performed for each meal to ensure the total sodium does not exceed the limit of 1500mg/day according to the DASH diet. Each meal was evaluated on flavor, visual appeal, ease of preparation, and cost. We also created an educational video to share with the participants to showcase the nutrition benefits and inspire them to make the meals.
