快活林性息

March 12, 2020

Eirenel G. Eclevia, MMC Student Leader and Jenica Smith, Project Coordinator

Graduate and undergraduate fellows聽in the 鈥淧athways to Success鈥� program attended the聽15th annual conference for the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE)聽in Costa Mesa, California on March聽5th-7th聽with Annette Besnilian, Executive Director聽of the聽Marilyn Magaram Center (MMC).聽 Through funding provided by USDA NIFA, our Pathway fellows聽exceled聽at this year鈥檚 conference聽as聽they participated in various聽workshops and presented聽their聽research projects.聽 Among聽the students in attendance was聽Citlalli Garcia-Plascencia, a research assistant聽for the MMC聽who聽conducted research聽for the 鈥淐hampions for Change鈥� program (now 鈥淐alFresh Healthy Living鈥�).聽聽Garcia聽presented on the process of gathering qualitative data from focus groups and performing analysis to evaluate participant experience and perceptions of the 鈥淐hampions for Change鈥� program, in addition to the effectiveness of the intervention. For Karina Fuentes, Aneli Torres, and Kellie Fernandez, it was their first time attending the AAHEE conference and presenting research that highlighted the intervention efforts of the 鈥淟et鈥檚 Grow Healthy鈥� and 鈥淐hampions for Change鈥� programs.聽聽

Another exciting highlight from this year鈥檚 conference was having one of our Pathways graduates, Guadalupe Alfaro Cabrera, selected as a USDA-Caminos Fellow as a result of her outstanding work. Cabrera submitted her thesis, 鈥淓ffective Ways to Increase Awareness About The Women, Infant, And Children (WIC) Program on a University Campus,鈥� to the 2020 Caminos Thesis competition in Food and Agricultural Sciences. This competition is open to any Hispanic individual who has completed a thesis on a topic related to the USDA priority areas, including Food Safety, Climate Change, Sustainable Energy, Childhood Obesity, and Global Food Security and Hunger. As a participant in the thesis competition, she was invited to participate in a Career Preparation Institute hosted by AAHHE. Cabrera has worked on this project since she was a dietetic intern at 快活林性息, and she would like to extend her gratitude to MMC staff, volunteers, and fellow interns who contributed to this research.聽聽

鈥淧athways to Success鈥� is a professional development program funded by USDA NIFA that helps prepare students for a career as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). Undergraduate and graduate Dietetics Fellows benefit from a variety of resources such as聽research and mentorship opportunities, scholarships, career opportunities and professional development workshops, with topics focusing on resume and personal statement writing, networking, time management, and succeeding in a dietetic internship.聽 Now in its third year, the program first received funding in 2017.聽聽聽

We are happy to announce that our 鈥淧athways鈥� program continues to run successfully in the midst of the current pandemic, with professional development workshops being coordinated through an online teleconference application called 鈥淶oom.鈥� Even with the challenges faced, workshops have had high attendance rates and have been well-received by our fellows. One of our biggest obstacles has been coordinating outreach efforts at local high schools and junior colleges, which have also experienced massive infrastructure changes due to the COVID-19 crisis. Creative outreach efforts and opportunities are currently being developed to include social media engagement, video presentations, and live Q&A sessions. As we have learned how to navigate this crisis, it has truly been a team effort in continuing to provide a successful program for our undergraduate and graduate fellows.聽聽

We would like to extend a warm welcome to our new Project Coordinator, Jenica Smith, who oversees the USDA聽鈥淧athways to Success鈥� program.聽聽Smith聽received her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology (Health & Human Performance) and Family and Consumer Sciences (Nutrition & Dietetics)聽from 快活林性息, and she is passionate about boosting wellness and preventing disease in individuals and communities, changing people鈥檚 relationship with food,聽mentoring dietetics students,聽and advocating for food justice.聽 In addition, she聽completed her Dietetic Internship at 快活林性息 and is currently pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in Nutrition & Dietetics, working on her thesis project entitled,聽鈥淪erving the Starving Student: An Investigation Into Food Aid Programs at California State University, Northridge.鈥�