FNCE is the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo that occurs annually across the country bringing dietetic and nutrition professionals together around the world. This is a time to be surrounded by the coolest people (no bias here) and greatly expand your network by interacting in various capacities at the expo, sessions or events. FNCE allows attendees to gain knowledge and skills that will improve interventions, patient participation and results, as well as build upon existing knowledge with emerging research and innovative tips and tricks of the trade.

Following FNCE be sure to:

Start Sending Those E-mails! 

Send e-mails and follow up with those you met. Fostering relationships is key to having a successful career. Thank the people you interacted with for sharing their advice, tips and research with you.

Put the New Information into Play 

Use the newly acquired skills and information gained by modifying interventions, adjusting research questions or starting new projects after being inspired by the experts you met.

Remember: Follow Your Passions

Say yes to things that excite you, take hold of opportunities that come your way and be patient!

Take Care of YOU

Being involved in multiple projects and various sectors within the nutrition field is great, but to optimally perform we need to get adequate sleep, fuel ourselves properly and maintain our social health. Although most RDNs or future RDNs are Type A and want everything to be perfect, the most important thing you can do for yourself is to take care of you.

And now you can look forward to entering the next 100 years of the Healthy Nutrition Academy with your robust network and newly acquired skills!

See you next year at FNCE in the nation’s capital where after the conference we will storm the Hill to advocate for the profession.

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The most profound event I attended was the Academy’s Public Policy Workshop, or PPW. It was fascinating to experience the workshop’s behind-the-scenes aspects, which highlighted the importance of policy personnel working with the communications team to get the message out on social media. The Academy’s D.C. team works closely with its Chicago-based headquarters strategic communications team to coordinate messages disseminated to members that also parallel what is advocated on the Hill.

Participants, the public and members of Congress joined the conversation on social media before and during the event, advocating for nutrition services in the Prevention Fund, nutrition education in the Farm Bill and simply sharing exciting #PPW2017 updates. I was delighted to see so many of the more than 350 members in attendance posting about the event and realized how powerful social media can be as an advocacy tool.

Nutrition communications are vital, encompassing a host of different modes, be it posting on Twitter, writing a letter, informing Academy members of important happenings with advocacy materials or verbally expressing important messages to our Congressional representatives. These efforts allow people to give voice to their passions and demonstrate unity by rallying others around the same message.  This is impactful on decision makers who create legislation that guides public health practices.

Overall, my policy and advocacy internship experience demonstrated the importance of advocating for your passions and doing so with effective communication. It has inspired me to be more active by sharing my passion for the field and using a variety of modes to do so.

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Back when I was a freshman at American University, 

After speaking with the panelists, my head kept spinning and I knew I had to take advantage of the connections I had just made. I sent emails inquiring after becoming involved with them on campus and, soon after, I was put in contact with the university's Director of Operations, who created a paid intern position for me with a campus dietitian. I was ecstatic about this opportunity to gain exposure to a college campus dietitian’s role.  

Little did I know that inquiring about a possible internship would turn into a three-year job working with a campus dietitian. Over the years I was given more responsibilities, such as planning and helping the campus sustainability chef to facilitate monthly cooking demonstrations for about 100 faculty/staff, creating recipes that were put into a national recipe database, making food labels and highlighting special allergens, creating a weekly spotlight in the dining hall on campus and much more. All of the experiences I received were because of the dietitian I worked with, Jo-Ann Jolly, MPH, RD/LDN, whose guidance and constant support allowed me to gather one of the best experiences I have had in the nutrition field.  

My internship allowed me to not only gain unique experiences early on in my career, but to develop a work-family that I could turn to whenever needed, and a bond with a successful, hard-working dietitian who is now a lifelong friend and role model to me on my journey to becoming an RD/MPH. 

The post How an Unsolicited Email Turned into a Valuable Internship appeared first on HealthStylz.