Here we begin the journey to improving health, one forkful at a time. I should introduce myself. I’m Christina, a recent postgraduate and a Registered Associate Nutritionist. I’m from the beautiful island of Barbados, and my interests are very varied. I’m a passionate and mostly organised nerd, though I do have my moments of procrastination. Though I’m not that new to blogging or vlogging, and I previously shared parts of my life and beauty tips on my lifestyle blog, making the transition to a career in Nutrition, definitely is a new experience.
So I thought, studying my Master’s would be pretty straightforward and by the end, I would have figured out my area of most interest, furthermore have a job lined up, but boy, was I wrong. When I was much younger, I realised I really liked food. The taste, the presentation, making it and experimenting with it. But for some reason, although I thought I wanted to be a chef in those days, my path swerved more and more towards Science. That being said, I also grew a genuine love for Sciences, particularly biological and chemical sciences and decided that for the sake of employability and apparent enjoyment that I should study Chemistry with Biochemistry for my Bachelors. It was a tough programme, but I, like a few others made it out of my Honours degree alive without switching majors.
Then it came to the age-old question, “What next?” to which I tried to seek employment all over my sunny rock, and even abroad. But with little scientific experience outside of the learning environment, I felt like I had struck out. I did manage to work a few times during my studies, but my parents always insisted that I stay focused, rather than chase coins. This was a conundrum because while I did stay on-task to complete my Bachelor’s successfully, I still have very little going on professionally. So in my final year when I managed to have fewer contact hours, I tried to get some work experience, though sadly it was not within the scientific field. Albeit this a somewhat regrettable, I wouldn’t change it, because those experiences have been character-building.
Fast-forwarding to roughly 8 months after I completed the last module of my Bachelor’s, I applied for a teaching job and actually got it! I was over the moon at that time, after many months of working part-time and applying to numerous jobs, where people simply don’t write back. Teaching was a new experience, challenging, tiring and sometimes rewarding, but it was the staff that kept me coming back. Yes, many teachers will say it’s the children, but let’s face it, the children made teaching worth it, but the staff made me feel like a part of the family. Making the decision to uproot myself and shake up life again, was (still is) tough, but I still had that niggling feeling about food, and through teaching, I recognised I wanted to help others.
Deciding on a Master’s programme, an accredited university, sorting out funding and finally saying goodbye to everyone took some time, but the experiences have been unforgettable and chipped out my character (some more). We’ll get more into that in some future posts.
And although I don’t yet have a special focus when it comes to the area of Nutrition I want to work in, I do know that I want to equip others with the information and tools to improve their nutrition and lifestyle, resulting in overall better health. Hence the Nutrition Human Resource. It took a while to even come to this name and I hope it doesn’t cause too much confusion with jobseekers, though I hope to also provide more insight for persons wanting to come into Nutrition as well.
But first and foremost, I hope to provide concise nutrition advice, address diet challenges and open the dialogue to topical health-related issues. I will do my research and share my views, but I expect to be challenged at times. That’s okay too.
I hope that you find this resource useful, and feel comfortable sharing as well. If you’re also a Nutritionist or healthcare professional, academic, researcher or otherwise, I also look forward to you sharing your expertise on the Nutrition HR. Just click the button below to find out how.
