About Cody
Areas of Interest
Community Health
Nutrition in Rural Communities
Connecting Consumers with Farmers
Simplified Cooking and Preservation
My Story
I always have had a tendency to diverge from the typical path. While many dietetics graduates immediately enter internships or work in a clinical setting, I knew that I personally needed to explore new perspectives on healthy eating, sustainable food sytems, and traditional recipes in an increasingly busy, technology-oriented world. I felt that I couldn't relate to, and subsequently help, the average hard-working person seeking nutritional advice if all I knew was an education and career centered around nutrition. With this in mind I decided to take some time and experience what the world had to offer, and I believe that it has truly made me a better person.
Since I graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 2012, I spent two amazing years working abroad in South Korea as an English teacher. I gained two very important skills during my time living there. First, I learned how important it is to understand what motivates each student. I believe that a dietitian is like a teacher in this regard: if you cannot help patients become invested in improving themselves, they will never succeed regardless of how well you can teach them about nutrition. Second, I was introduced to many of the traditions of the South Korean diet. These included the preservation of foods through fermentation; healthy raw or semi-cooked side dishes for each meal; and a focus on vegetable-heavy main dishes. I know that all of the culinary practices I learned here will be useful tools for me in the future!
Between those two adventures in Korea, I spent a year helping run my family's business. Although being an operations manager does not directly relate to working in nutrition, I did learn quite a few things about organization, time management skills, and managing other employees. I believe all of those skills will help me in my future, regardless of where I end up.
My long term goals are to become a registered dietitian and start a small-scale organic farm. I know that these two things in conjunction are a fairly lofty goal, but I feel confident that I can accomplish them some day!
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Beginning on August of 2016 I will be enrolled as an intern at the Montana State Dietetics Internship. This was by far my first choice in the entire country for an internship and I am extremely excited to take one more step closer to becoming a registered dietitian!