Couse reflection statement 205

During the course of enrollment in NUTR 205 Lab and Lecture at San Diego State
University I have acquired a wealth of applicable knowledge and strategies to become a
well-rounded dietitian. In addition, this course has provided practical experience that has
laid a solid groundwork of knowledge about the science of food prep, evaluation of food
quality and safety, calculations of proper portioning and pricing of food and understanding of
sensory and consumer evaluation of food. As a graduate student with aspirations to become
a registered dietitian these lessons will aid in practical application in my career to link good
nutrition to better health. Furthermore, in order to provide clients with expertise on diet and
the driving forces behind it is important to understand consumer choices, composition of
food products and healthy food substitutions in order to treat and prevent short term
infections and long term allergies and chronic disease. The hands on experience working
with food products was extremely rewarding as it provided the opportunity to work in an
industrial kitchen in which creativity could be explored. Creating my own niche within the
field concentrating on integration of client care with personalized health products and the
healing benefits of yoga is a long term goal of mine and the experience in this course made
that dream more attainable.
In particular, the healthy recipe assignment laid the groundwork to achieve my goal
of creating new health food products. This assignment taught me proper substitutions for
healthier alternatives to dishes that are artery clogging and disease contributing. It is
important to promote foods with the highest nutrient quality and benefits and this
assignment solidified my knowledge of nutrient analysis and allowed me to be creative in
the kitchen to produce a delicious dish with heart healthy benefits. This process was very
rewarding as it aloud my creativity and love for food shine while getting to experience the
enjoyment the healthy dish brought my peers.
Introduction of Science of Food was taught by skilled and interesting professors at
San Diego State University. The informative yet hands off approach allowed students to
learn by experience as well as trial and error. Understanding the background of a subject
and then being allowed to run free with the knowledge facilitates the best learning outcome
in myself and will concrete the information in my mind for not only daily application but
further application in my career as a graduate student and eventually a registered dietitian.

Advanced Nutrition (Nutr. 302 and 302 L)

I believe Advance nutrition was a good class over all. A lot of detailed information
about all the macronutrients and micronutrients was covered in depth. I feel a learned a
lot not only about the different nutrients and their functions, but also about how they are
processed and utilized by our bodies. The way the material was organized and
presented throughout the semester made sense and helped me link the different
topics. The quizzes were helpful because not only do they provide an opportunity to
earn point for the class, but they also force you to study the material constantly and
made it easier to study for the exams. I liked Dr. Hooshmands teaching style, I
appreciate that she would take time to draw the different pathways and mechanisms on
the overhead projector. I am a visual person and drawing the mechanisms helped me
learn the material a lot better.
The laboratory section was extremely helpful to fully understand and apply the
concepts learned in class. Dr. Hong is a great professor that takes the time to explain
everything in great detail. I enjoyed learning how to write a NCP and analyze case
studies. Also, the animal project was a great research experience. We learned how to
do a lot of different protocols and lab procedures. Overall, I enjoyed and learned a lot
from this class. All the information both, form lecture and laboratory will be very useful in
the near future when I work in a clinic and as I prepare to become an RD.

Course Reflection Statement Nutr 303

After completion of my Fall 2014 semester of enrollment in NUTR 303 at San Diego
State University, I am confident in my skills and knowledge in how to turn raw ingredients
into a high-quality product fit for service to the public. This class was thought by intelligent
and skilled professors that lead students by informative lecture and instruction. Due to my
love for food and drive to use it in the career I am pursuing, to become a registered dietitian,
the knowledge I am taking away from this class will be priceless. At some point in my career
I hope to step into the arena of food service and build a small food establishment reflecting
how I believe food should be procured, produced, assembled and served. My passion in
creating food and seeing the joy on peoples faces as they consume a high quality product
that is thoughtful and flavorful is what has driven me to this career choice. This course has
only provided me with more skills on how to build on that passion by turning my love of
creating food into a functioning and profitable food service establishment. In addition, this
course opened my eyes to avenues of food service that I did not believe to be of much
importance, such as the creation of a menu. The choices of your menu influence so much of
what happens in a food establishment and dictates what kind of establishment you become,
who you hire, what equipment you purchase and who you will serve. Menu design is an
avenue I am now considering in which I have never thought of pursuing before due to it
being the main driver of a successful food establishment and its importance to owners in the
industry. Furthermore, in order to one day serve clients quality meals at a reasonable price
and consistency, the courses focus on cost, quality standards and measurement is
imperative.
In particular, studying for the food handlers test established a base of how food
should be handling and prepared in order to keep customers and staff safe and healthy.
This knowledge will help me in creating nutritious and delicious food that people walk away
from feeling strong and healthy without worry of infection or illness. For me, this has
highlighted the importance of a clean and healthy establishment being primary to satisfied
customers and the reputation of your business. Furthermore, the lecture project of creating
your own food service establishment from procurement to service laid the groundwork for
what it means to open a food service establishment and highlighted all the thought,
research and resources that leads up to serving your first customer. This assignment also
provided me the best comprehensive learning outcome for the course. After the completion

of this project and course I have a much clearer picture on how to achieve my aspirations
during my future career as a registered dietitian.

Food Systems Management (Nutr. 404)

Food Systems Management Class was a somewhat intimidating at first because
it is completely out of my filed and the first class I take about food service business
operations. However, all the information was very interesting and I am sure all I learned
on business development, management and marketing will be very helpful when I
decide to open my private practice. The book does a very good job explaining the
concepts and it was easy to read and follow.
The foodservice business plan project was an excellent opportunity to apply the
terminology and knowledge learned in the book and lectures and applying it to a real
business idea. I truly enjoyed working on the project and, although challenging, it was
the perfect way to integrate all the information into a functional organization. One of the
reasons why this class was challenging is because it was taught very late on
Wednesday and the lectures were very long. Also, the professor was not very confident
about the material and that made it a bit harder. However, she was extremely
accommodating and willing to make some changes suggested by the students. She
was very enthusiastic about sustainability and environmental friendly practices, which
was very nice to learn about. Overall Food Systems Management class was very
interesting and I learned a lot of new and extremely useful information, which will be
very helpful in the future career.

Medical Nutrition Therapy I/II (Nutr. 406/408)

Over all, MNT I class was a great learning experience where every lecture was
interesting and very valuable for my future career as clinical dietitian. The order the
material was presented was very helpful and made complete sense. The outlines of
every chapter provided by the professor during the lectures were very helpful for
studding for the exams.
I really enjoyed reading the book. It is written in a very clear and concise
language that was very easy to follow and understand, even the complicated
mechanisms and procedures were very well explained. I am sure I will continue to use
that book throughout my career. I really liked that we had four exams in each class. It
made it easier to study and learn the material well. I really enjoyed the videos Professor
Petrisko showed on the GI procedures. Those helped visualize the procedure and learn
the information from lecture. Also, the case studies we reviewed and analyzed together
in class were very helpful to apply the knowledge and integrate the information learned
throughout the semester. I also enjoyed the extra credit webinar on healthy fats. The
presenters did a very good job at explaining the information and showed very interesting
recent data on fat consumption in the United States. Overall, I enjoyed the class and I
am sure the information learned will be very helpful in my career as a dietitian.

MNT lab II (Nutr. 409)

MNT lab II is one of the most useful and practical class I have taken during my
time at SDSU. Professor Rupp does a great job exposing us to the different job
opportunities available within the field of nutrition. Some of the places we visited
like Healthy Dinning, I did not know existed. Other places like Rady Childrens
Hospital, I did not think I would like to work there until we visited the place. Before
our visit to Radys Childrens Hospital I thought a big setting like a hospital was not the
best fit for me. However, the speaker transmitted a contagious enthusiasm and passion
about her job and you could easily tell she enjoys it very much. After listening to the
speakers stories about how immensely rewarding it can be to help a child feel and get
better, that she truly made me want to rotate in a pediatrics clinic to be able to share her
experience.
All the dietitians we met in our visits not only exposed us to different areas of
nutrition, they also taught us about the work they do every day, the kind of patient they
council and the rewards and challenges of their jobs, which was very interesting to
learn. In some cases we were able to tour the facilities and see the setup in which they
work. We were even able to tour a burn unit which was very eye opening and
informative. This was a great learning experience where I realized being exposed to
patients with long hospital stays is something I would be interested in as I could see
there progression as they heal.

Community Nutrition (Nutr. 510)

Community nutrition was a very hands on course and taught me a lot throughout
the semester. The time commitment for the class was the most challenging aspect and I
would suggest letting students know about the time commitment so they know not to
take it during a full semester. The counseling and interviewing skills we acquire in this
class seemed to be the most applicable for me in my future career. I want to eventually
open a small practice and the skills I learned during lecture and lab is something I can
carry on with me throughout my career. Professor Rupp did a good job of giving
students feedback so we know what to improve upon in the future.

I really enjoyed attending WIC in the community. It was really fun to have a
hands on experience outside of the classroom. My favorite part of this activity was
teaching the nutrition lesson to the moms that were clients there. This was eye opening
to see how nutrition lessons look in the community and how WIC prepares these. This
was also challenging as children were present during the nutrition lesson and this forced
me to make adjustments in my teaching style on the spot. I really enjoyed attending
WIC and look forward to working in a community setting in the future.

I am a hands on learner and because there were so many out of the classroom
experiences and hands on assignments it really gave me a good perspective of what to
expect in my internship and in my future career as a dietitian.