NACOGDOCHES, Texas –– More than 80 registered dietitians, nutrition professionals and students from across East Texas gathered at Stephen F. Austin State University for the East Region Winter Seminar, offered by the Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The event provided an opportunity for professionals and students to network, exchange knowledge, and explore the latest advancements in nutritional science and integrative health.
“The more perspectives you can get, the more knowledge you’re going to have, so that’s one of the best things that come out of these seminars,” said Hailey Gamboa, an attendee and graduate student from Murphy in SFA’s Master of Science in nutrition and integrative health program. “We get to learn from people who research and dedicate their lives to a certain condition or area of study.”
Organized by Sarah Drake, clinical instructor in SFA’s School of Human Sciences and director of TAND’s east region, the seminar offered presentation topics ranging from nutritional strategies to the evolving role of dietitians in health care settings.
“Similarly to the first presenter’s story, I had my own nutritional health problems that led me to do research on what I was experiencing. That’s how I found my way to dietetics and discovered how nutrition plays a really big role in your physical and mental health,” said Tesla Maxwell, a senior from Frisco in the Bachelor of Science in dietetics and nutritional sciences program.
More conversation is happening around the concept that “your gut and your brain are connected,” Maxwell added. “That interests me a lot and is what I’m hoping to go into — mental health and women’s health specifically — after I graduate.”
Supporting both local and distance students, SFA’s bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nutrition offer multiple pathways for students who are interested in nutritional sciences, including a focus in integrative and functional nutrition.
“Our programs serve an important need given the alarming state of health in the area and the country,” said Dr. Darla O’Dwyer, professor of dietetics and nutritional sciences. “We train professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver nutrition services in an environment where nutrition must be prioritized to improve the health of East Texans and the region.”
SFA’s BS in dietetics and nutritional sciences is designed for students seeking to become registered dietitians or to support further education as pre-health professionals. The MS in nutrition and integrative health assists students pursuing a registered dietitian pathway or those wanting to expand their knowledge base in integrative and functional nutrition.
“Nutrition is really the direction medicine needs to go,” said Garrett Smith, a junior dietetics and nutritional sciences major on the pre-med track from Little Elm. “The faculty in this program help improve the nutrition of East Texas through volunteer programs, their work as dietitians and their work as health care providers. They have personally encouraged me in my goal of becoming a doctor. They are by far the most supportive and inspiring people and professors I’ve ever met.”
To learn more about SFA’s bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nutrition, visit gosfa.com/BS-nutrition or gosfa.com/MS-nutrition.