Statement of Originality
Hello, my name is Erica Azucena and I am Dietetics student at San Francisco State University with 2 minors in Health Education and Counseling. This electronic portfolio contains my work. Please do not copy without permission. Some of the exhibits, work samples and/or service samples are property of the organization whose name appears on the document. Each has granted permission for this product to be used as a demonstration of work.
Work Philosophy
Nutrition is apart of life in anyway possible. This field of study is growing larger than the tradition domains of foodservice, clinical nutrition and community work. With technology developing, nutrition is starting to be a trendy topic on many social networks. There are a lot of new exciting things happening in the field of nutrition. Nutrition is a diverse topic because it involves many different cultures and different outlooks on food. Food can range from many different categories, whether its vegetables, energy drinks, supplemented shakes, or an entree at a restaurant. I believe that everyone is entitled to have access to healthy food, nutrition education and the right to live a healthy life with optimal wellness. In many parts of the world, people are struggling with food issues, whether it's mal-norishment or undernourishment. I want to dedicate my passion to push nutrition towards the direction its going in now but encourage a major push forward that shows nutrition as an important science that everyone needs to be familiar with. Although that may be hard to achieve because the research of nutrition is constantly changing like old beliefs are being reintroduced, new ideas easily thrown out, or current beliefs evolving, yet its still possible because nutrition is a necessity.
Career Goals
I want to focus my future career in clinical practice and to teach nutrition education to a community of low income families. I want to work in a hospital as a Clinical Dietitian to counsel, teach, assess and create interventions in the pediactric department. I want to concentrate my practice on children with cancer. I also want to teach low income families to eat healthy on a budget. I want to educate families on how to read nutrition labels, understand different nutrients, the importances of cooking with fresh ingredients, portion control, about their eating behaviors and consumption amounts. To achieve this career goal, I need to get an internship that focuses more on clinical and community dietetics. I need to volunteer with an organization or a hospital that deals with cancer patients. I want to be familiar and comfortable with working with cancer patients, so I can develop a thick, compassionate and knowledgable outer layer to aide me in my working environment. I hope to also develop and teach nutrition workshops to low income families. I can do this by working with eatright.org, balance beings, WIC or other organizations that focus on teaching nutrition to children and their parents. Once I graduate, I want to take my DTR Exam and gain work experience as a Dietitian Technician for about a year. Then I want to apply to an internship, so I can become a Registered Dietitian. I also have another lifetime goal, which is to travel around the world to learn and do research about different cultures, their eating habits and nutrient beliefs. I belief that there isn't just one way to eat, that all cultures can influence a lifestyle that are healthy and mindful.
Brief Biography
I grew up with a single parent, so I understand the struggle of trying to get rid of a poor eating habit. Because my mother was the only provider, she had to work most of the time. Our family didn't have dinner together at home every night or get taught healthy eating habits. This was actually a generational chain that has been going on from the start of my grandmother when she moved to America. My grandmother herself was a hard working woman who was rarely home to teach healthy eating habits to her children. This is why my mother didn't know much about nutrition and wasn't able to pass along that knowledge. To sum this all up, you can say, I developed a high sugary, savory, salty and fatty palate. My discovery in the importance of nutrition was brought to my attention by my actually body. At the age of 20, I could feel and see the signs from my body telling me that something was wrong. I would feel more sluggish, see the weight loss, have more acne on my face or feel more stressed out. I sought to make changes in my diet and I'm still working at finding the right balance. I am more aware of how much I eat, what I take in and is still trying to understand what works best for my body. This is what lead me to my passion for nutrition and my compassion for those low income families that rely on high caloric convenient foods. These families might rely on these convenient foods because they were never taught healthy eating habits like myself. Knowledge is power but knowledge into practice is the key to success. If I could teach important healthy eating habits to families, I can push the passion for optimal wellness and guide them to build a foundation and investment for their families. I look forward to learning more about nutrition and gaining the work experience to work with my health professionals and people of different cultures.