Current Interns
Welcome to the Class of 2012!
Back row (L to R): Kayla Munsey, Erin Gahagan, Allison Brewer, Nancy Guardino, Austin Shinall, and Chi Lee
Front row (L to R): Robyn Coale, Laura Johnson, Rachel Cornett, and Tina Wynn
Allison Brewer
Allison graduated from Virginia Tech in December of 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise with a concentration in Exercise Science. She then started work as a Physical Education and Health teacher at a small private school in Blacksburg after graduation. With a love for working with kids and a passion to become a Registered Dietitian, she returned to Radford University to complete her dietetics course requirements. She was able to graduate summa cum laude with a GPA of 4.0 and named to the Dean’s List all four semesters of her attendance. During this time, she was involved in the Student Dietetic Association as the ADA Student Council Liaison and implemented a biweekly newsletter for her organization covering current club news as well as updates and information from the ADA. She spent time in Washington D.C. working with the Back On My Feet organization, providing nutrition information for individuals who had just transitioned from being homeless to now living in a facility. They were involved in a running program to build self-esteem and she made weekly visits to provide information about proper nutrition for their daily lives as well as for their newly physically active lifestyle. It was here that she knew dietetics was the right path for her life, having the ability to help people through nutrition, and witnessed first hand the benefits. With volunteer experience in private practice, acute care, residential senior living and foodservice, Allison was able to learn a broad scope of the field of dietetics, however, finding more passion in the clinical setting. With such a enthusiasm about food, she hopes to one day provide information through counseling as well as link her passion for cooking to hands-on educational lessons for clients.
Robyn Coale
Robyn graduated from Indiana University in May of 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Health with a concentration in Dietetics and a minor in Public Health. She graduated with Honors and highest distinction, earning an overall GPA of 3.9 and was also recognized as a Founder’s Scholar and eight time member of the Dean’s List. Throughout college, Robyn was involved in many campus activities through her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, the Panhellenic Association, and the Hutton Honors College. Through her sorority’s annual philanthropy, she has helped raise over $550,000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure and has been inspired to live ambitiously by the women she has met at the Foundation. Additionally, she was selected as a recruitment director for the Greek community at IU where she worked to train and educate undergraduate women to be mentors for incoming freshman, facilitating strong leadership and communication skills as well as teamwork. Robyn also volunteered at Hoosier Hills Food Bank and Community Kitchen, was a four year member of the Nutrition and Dietetics Club, and she worked as a Health and Human Development Intern, assisting in evaluating health programs in schools across Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Beginning in May 2010, Robyn began working as a Dietary Aide at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis where she provided nutrition education and disease related menu planning for patients. Her work at St. Vincent Hospital solidified her passion for dietetics and desire to help others through food. Robyn has been an avid runner since the sixth grade, running competitively throughout high school. This past October she completed her first marathon in Chicago as a teammate of Susan G. Komen Marathon for the Cure, and she plans to run many more. Robyn has a passion for wholesome, real food, and ultimately wants to become a pediatric dietitian and help children and families live healthier, happier lives.
Rachel Cornett
Rachel graduated magna cum laude from Virginia Tech in May 2010 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise. She continued her collegiate education in Virginia Tech’s fifth year Master of Science in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise Program, of which she will graduate from in May 2011. During her college career, she was named the 2010 American Dietetic Association’s Outstanding Dietetic Student in Virginia, a finalist for the 2010 Virginia Tech Undergraduate Woman of the Year, awarded the 2011 Virginia Dietetic Association’s Margaret MacDonald Scholarship, and awarded the 2011 Raville Outstanding Graduate Student Award. In February 2011, she successfully defended her thesis titled “Daily Self-Monitoring During the Winter Holiday Period: A Strategy for Holiday Weight Maintenance in Reduced-Obese Older Adults”. While at Virginia Tech, she became involved in many didactic experiences, including serving as a student nutrition counselor, an assistant to Virginia Tech Dining Service’s administrative dietitian, a researcher in obesity and weight management, a volunteer with clinical dietitians, and an assistant in the varsity athletes’ nutrition oasis center. Through her experiences, she became passionate about medical nutrition therapy and the use of evidence-based practices in nutrition care. She was also involved in many extracurricular activities including Phi Sigma Pi National Honors Fraternity, the Student Dietetic Association, and studied abroad in Paris, France. Rachel wants to pursue a career in clinical dietetics in a major trauma medical center, while remaining involved in nutrition research.
Erin Gahagan
Erin will be graduating with honors from Michigan State University in May of 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics and a Health Promotion specialty. She participated in various extracurricular activities while pursuing her undergraduate degree including volunteer work with an American Diabetes Association summer camp, a local hospital, and the MSU Student Food Bank. Erin is an active member of the MSU Food and Nutrition Association and the current president of RUBI (Respecting and Understanding Body Image), a student activist group on campus that works to promote positive body image and raise eating disorder awareness by providing educational programs for student groups. She was very fortunate to have the opportunity to study abroad in the UK, France, Switzerland, and Italy for an International Food Laws study abroad program. Through this experience, she became very interested in learning about international attitudes and beliefs surrounding food and eating customs. In 2007-2008, Erin was a member of the MSU Women’s Rowing team, which won both the Big Ten Conference Championship as well as the Central Championship that year. Throughout her four years at MSU, Erin has been employed as an event server, a teaching assistant for a nutrition and human development class, and most recently as an undergraduate research assistant for Project FIT. Pediatric and prenatal nutrition are currently Erin’s primary areas of professional interest; she is also very excited to learn about the role of nutrition in the treatment of HIV/AIDS and cancer.
Nancy Guardino
Nancy graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of California at Davis with a degree in clinical nutrition. Her passion for nutrition is multi-faceted. She has a special interest in maternal and infant nutrition, which she has pursued through interning at the UC Davis Human Lactation Center and volunteering with gestational diabetes patients at local health clinics. She enjoys teaching and volunteered with fellow students to teach nutrition lessons to kindergarteners, and also gave cooking demonstrations in a local food cooperative. She has spent the last year exploring research dietetics by interning in the Metabolic Kitchen at the Western Human Nutrition Research Center. Her interests also include food sustainability as it relates to environmental and human health. She spent a year as an intern with UC Davis Dining Services teaching students about food sustainability and health. Nancy also spent a semester studying nutrition abroad at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. She has received several academic awards; she was a University of California Regents Scholar, was a part of the Integrated Studies Honors program, and was chosen for the Outstanding Senior Award for the UC Davis Nutrition Department. She was a member of the Student Nutrition Association, competed on the UC Davis Nutrition College Bowl Team, and participated in various campus groups such as the UC Davis Triathlon Team. She is excited to enter the world of dietetics and hopes to specialize her practice to focus on maternal and infant nutrition
Laura Johnson
Laura will graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in May 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics. She has received the Chancellor’s Award five semesters for outstanding academic achievement. Throughout her college career, Laura was actively involved in Stout’s Academic Honor Society and the Stout Student Dietetic Association (SSDA). She served as the treasurer for SSDA during the 2010-2011 academic year, and a dietetic mentor for freshmen and transfer students. On the state level, she has served on the Publications Committee and a student representative for the Dietitian Licensure Initiative through the Wisconsin Dietetic Association. As an undergraduate, she completed a volunteer experience as a dietetic intern at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, Minnesota. Through this experience, she was involved in many activities and projects: creating nutrition education bulletin boards, completing job shadow rotations, computer recipe entry, developing in-services, collecting tray line data, and planning and implementing a “Rock-N-Roll” theme meal in the café. While exposing her to hands-on dietetics, this experience exemplified the countless opportunities available to Registered Dietitians and reaffirmed her career choice. Her career goal is to become a Registered Dietitian in a clinical setting working with the pediatric population. She is looking forward to the variety of experiences she will gain through the internship.
Chi Hong Lee
Chi graduated from University of California- Davis in June 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Nutrition. Before transferring to UC Davis, he received Academic Honors for 2 years in Diablo Valley College. At UC Davis, his overall GPA of 3.67 allowed him to be awarded the Luther D. and Marie M. Davis Scholarship. Chi has always been engaged in volunteer work at a variety of hospitals. At Mercy General Hospital and Sutter Memorial Hospital, he surveyed patients on their meal satisfaction and collected information regarding food preferences and allergies. Additionally, at Shriners Hospitals for Children - Northern California, he was able to learn the basic skills of pediatric nutrition assessment and pediatric nutrition support while shadowing a pediatric RD. This glimpse into pediatric nutrition has solidified his interest in clinical nutrition. He gained extensive food service experience while working as a server in a child foster care facility, Panda Express and UC Davis Dinning Commons. He is also a certified Food Safety Manager. Throughout the internships at Grant High School and Sacramento Food Bank, he enjoyed educating people in the community about nutrition and healthful diet. In 2011, he was a member of the UC Davis Nutrition Team to compete in the 9th Annual Nutrition College Bowl, where the team won the 2nd place out of 15 competing teams. The experience is the highlight of his undergraduate years. Chi set as his goal to become an RD specializing in pediatrics or sports nutrition. He also wishes to make a successful career in any field of dietetics.
Kayla Munsey
Kayla Munsey graduated magna cum laude from Virginia Tech in May 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise and a concentration in dietetics. Kayla was awarded both the Cyrus McCormick and LB Dietrick scholarships by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences during her undergraduate career. Kayla participated in many activities at Virginia Tech and in the Blacksburg community which further ignited her passion for the field of dietetics. She gained leadership skills while serving as the treasurer for the Virginia Tech Student Dietetic Association and also as a member of the Health and Wellness team of Leadership Tech. In her sophomore year, Kayla began volunteering with the Virginia Cooperative Extension. As a volunteer, Kayla gave weekly nutrition presentations at the local Free Clinic, educated diabetes sufferers about nutrition through the Living Well with Diabetes program in Pulaski, VA, and developed nutrition presentations for Pulaski County schools and the Live Well with Less program in Dublin, VA. During the summer before her junior year, Kayla interned with the Mid-Atlantic Kroger dietitian, which helped her to gain valuable communication and nutrition skills. Kayla volunteered in the diet office at Montgomery Regional Hospital during her senior year, which exposed her to both the foodservice and clinical aspects of dietetics. Although she has many different interests in the field of dietetics, Kayla primarily wishes to work in a clinical setting and aims to become a Certified Diabetes Educator.
Austin Shinall
Austin graduated magna cum laude from Georgia Southern University in May 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Food Science. She was inducted into Gamma Beta Phi and Phi Eta Sigma Honors Societies and was very involved in the Student Dietetic Association as well as her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha. Austin displayed leadership skills as her sorority’s executive council secretary and ritual chairman, as well as creating the health and fitness chair to keep the chapter informed on healthy lifestyle choices. She received Georgia’s prestigious Virginia Cleveland Martin Service Award for her philanthropic services and devotion to her sorority. Her involvement with the Student Dietetic Association included working at the local farmers market, Boys and Girls Club, and raising students’ nutritional awareness. She has also gained various undergraduate experiences in nutrition and dietetics while assisting two of her professors in research with the renal population, shadowing a registered dietitian at Houston Medical Center, and completing a quantity food service practicum at Stilson Elementary School. The Georgia Southern Nutrition program has given her exposure to clinical and community nutrition as well as food service management. Austin is still not certain of the path she will continue in dietetics, but her interests include wellness, sports nutrition, journalism, and helping educate and counsel the underprivileged. As an avid supporter of healthy lifestyles, she recently completed her first marathon. Outside of school and work, Austin can be found cooking, running, reading, and spending time with family and friends.
Tina Wynn
Tina graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas Tech University in May of 2011 with a Degree in Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics. At Texas Tech she earned an overall GPA of 3.8 and was on the President’s list for 5 semesters. In her final year of school she was honored with receiving the award for Most Outstanding DPD Student by the Texas Dietetic Association. She received this award with the support of her professors and peers at the annual TDA Food and Nutrition Exhibition Conference in April of 2011. While attending school she was involved in a number of organizations and activities including Phi Upsilon Omicron Honor Society, Kappa Delta Sorority, and the Student Dietetic Association. Through SDA Tina was able to take leadership as an officer, where she led the group for two years as Representative and Vice-President. This gave her the chance to help fellow students and give them opportunities in the dietetic field. As Vice-President she was able to bring in different speakers that would benefit members, including current dietetic interns and various Dietitians around Lubbock. Additionally, Tina pursued an internship in the summer of 2010 for the Greater Houston Area YMCA. She worked aside the Director of Wellness where she developed and administered nutrition lesson plans for low income children in YMCA day camps across Houston. Tina has enjoyed working in the Fitness and Wellness Center on campus and would like to continue in that area, but is mostly excited to work on improving health in the clinical side of dietetics.
