Based on a variety of personal experiences, I became very interested in the role of foods and nutrition. During my last year of highschool, my favorite who had a successful business succumbed to a strange alliment. He was tired all the time and was diagnosed to live only 1 year. While he didn’t have cancer, his bloodwork had many abnormalites the doctors couldn’t diagnose. He began to seek out other doctors who ultimately recommended that his see a dietitian.
This changed his life. He started to eat low fat foods thats packed in vitamins, quit smoking and drinking and started to exercise regular bases. One year later, he could get out of bed, live as an full energetic person as he had before. This made him inspired to study nutrition in America.
I was overwhelmed after I knew his history and never looked at food the same way again. It is clear to me now that how people eat and what people eat is an important factor in acheving optimum health, that just exercise isn’t enough. I am inspired to explore the field of dietetics which is very broad and dietitians perform a variety of functions in their jobs. As a dietitian, I can work in a wide variety of positions such as a foodservice manager in commercial or institutional, a community nutritionist, such as the WIC and Headstart, a consultant to major food corporations such as Kelloggs and Kraft or go into sales. I am very interested in working in a position where I can help people develop habits to improve their health. I may eventually go on to graduate school to advance my knowledge of dietetics.
My cultural background will be a great contribution to the Washington State University Coordinated Dietetics Program. Being raised in a Malasia, having visited different countries, and now living in the United States, I have experienced the similarities and differences among many diverse cultural groups and nutritional diets. This broad exposure to different cultures allowed me to relate to different types of people by understanding their ways and beliefs, a quality that will help me work well with other students and people. For example, many Malasians will eat something that is unhealthy in nutritional standards and has no benefits to the body. However, they will continue to consume it because it is common in their culture.
I would like to teach Malasian people to look at food from a cultural and nutritional angle to be more healthful. For example, as a result of my education I have decreased my consumption of beef and my meals now contain less fat, and I eat fewer eggs each day. Changing my Malasian diet improved my life and I believe I can help others to make a similar change. I will be able to fulfill my greatest goal in life of helping others through experiences I have seen and felt first hand, and in doing this I would consider myself to be a good dietitian. My long-range professional goals are to develop food safety programs, manage food services and/or develop food products.
I see the need to bring food safety guidelines to Asian countries to avoid preventable diseases. I would like to introduce new menus to both Eastern and Western people to create a more balanced diet. For example, more raw vegetables for people in Asia for higher nutrient content and increasing the awareness of the high metal content in some seafood. In the American culture, I would create desserts catered to American taste using traditional Asian ingredients because they utilize more natural foods like beans, nuts, tofu, and fruit to make arrays of sweets that are lower in saturated fats and higher in nutritional value.
For instance, teaching the public how to use tofu to get the desired texture in reduced fat cheesecake and brownies. In addition to the necessary education background for success in the profession, I also have excellent communication skills. My short-range professional goal is to teach and counsel in communities, especially children, elderly, and pregnant women about food nutrition and food safety. Teaching and working as a facilitator has helped me improve my communication skills. I am constantly meeting new people and .
