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Lauren Sawyer is a public health nutritionist and Registered Dietitian with interests in chronic disease prevention and management (particularly type 2 diabetes), food sovereignty, and community health interventions. Here is her graduate student profile from 2020.

What excites you about nutrition? I love food. I think we probably all do. It provides comfort and pleasure and can serve to bring community together. It is an integral part of our culture and is something that we engage with — must engage with — every single day. But beyond being necessary to survive, food has the potential to dramatically change our health, for the better or worse.

What influenced you to pursue a degree in nutritional sciences? I have always been interested in nutrition. My undergraduate degree was also focused on nutrition, so I wanted to continue in the same area to deepen my knowledge and to gain more public health insight. Back in Mexico, the focus is almost entirely in individually-focused diets, so I wanted to diverge a bit from that.

What influenced you to pursue a degree in nutritional sciences? Growing up with a large extended Puerto Rican family, food was a way for us to show and give love. It has always been one of my greatest passions and interests and I knew from a young age that it would somehow be involved in what I pursued professionally. I attended culinary school and worked in kitchens in Seattle for about 7 years.

How has your education background and experience prepared you for studying food systems? I came into UW having a strong desire to help others and make an impactful change on the world in a broad way, but I was never sure how to execute. All my life I have lived in and experienced areas of cities that were “food swamps” which I thought needed adjustment within the food system.

Stephanie Winterbauer Degrees MPH/RDN Training, Nutritional Sciences Program Hometown Mercer Island, WA What influenced you to pursue a degree in nutritional sciences? As a kid, I was branded a “good eater,” consuming almost everything I was offered. Until I learned where my meat came from.

What influenced you to pursue a degree in nutritional sciences? I was exposed to nutritional sciences when I studied Health and Human Physiology at the University of Iowa. I had an advisor who was a Registered Dietitian. I also worked as a substitute teacher and really enjoyed working with children and families.

What influenced you to pursue a degree in nutritional sciences? I chose a degree in nutritional sciences to become a dietitian, and to be able alleviate problems in an individual’s life by applying my strengths in science and my passion for food.

What influenced you to pursue a degree in nutrition? My decision to pursue nutritional sciences and dietetics came from my collective experiences as an undergraduate at Cornell. In my undergraduate studies, I realized how much of a need there is for Black dietitians.

What influenced you to pursue a degree in nutrition? My decision to pursue nutritional sciences and dietetics came from my collective experiences as an undergraduate at Cornell. In my undergraduate studies, I realized how much of a need there is for Black dietitians.

Hannnah Jordan graduated with a degree in Food Systems, Nutrition and Health. She works as a Dietetic Technician at Seattle Children's.

How did you learn about the Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health Major, and what made you interested in applying? I originally found the Food Systems major because of conversations with my adviser about public health degrees. I wanted to learn about nutrition, but was unsure how far-reaching the possibilities would be in that field.