Hi everyone! My name is Christa Justice and I am a Sodexo dietetic intern of region 10 based out of Houston, Texas. I am also a student in the University of Rhode Island Masters of Dietetics program. I have had such a great experience so far! I have completed my community, food service and patient services management rotations. I am currently in my Intermediate clinical rotation at CHI Baylor St. Luke’s downtown in the Houston Medical Center where I have the amazing opportunity to work with a total of 23 registered dietitians.
I am so thankful for Sodexo Dietetic Internships for providing me with a unique experience and ability to tailor the internship to my interests and future career goals. This has made it easier to pursue areas of nutrition I am truly passionate about and further explore other interests. I strongly advise future interns to find a mentor registered dietitian and gain experience within their specialty or field. Being able to choose my own community rotations gave me more confidence in reaching out to potential preceptors and not being afraid of being turned down. More often than not, people want to see you succeed and are genuinely happy to help!
Hi everyone! My name is Christa Justice and I am a Sodexo dietetic intern of region 10 based out of Houston, Texas. I am also a student in the University of Rhode Island Masters of Dietetics program. I have had such a great experience so far! I have completed my community, food service and patient services management rotations. I am currently in my Intermediate clinical rotation at CHI Baylor St. Luke’s downtown in the Houston Medical Center where I have the amazing opportunity to work with a total of 23 registered dietitians.
I am so thankful for Sodexo Dietetic Internships for providing me with a unique experience and ability to tailor the internship to my interests and future career goals. This has made it easier to pursue areas of nutrition I am truly passionate about and further explore other interests. I strongly advise future interns to find a mentor registered dietitian and gain experience within their specialty or field. Being able to choose my own community rotations gave me more confidence in reaching out to potential preceptors and not being afraid of being turned down. More often than not, people want to see you succeed and are genuinely happy to help!
One of the most notable experiences I have had so far was at the Glazier Senior Education Center where I had the opportunity to set up my own nutrition information booths and talk to so many amazing senior citizens! The seniors were so insightful and interested in discussing various topics in nutrition as well as trying delicious and healthy samples! I also presented on how nutrition plays a role in age-related memory decline along with another region 10 dietetic intern. This is a population I had not considered working with prior to the internship but I love that I am able to explore all potential interests in the field of nutrition.
My other rotation experiences have been unique in that I had the opportunity to complete my food service management rotation at Texas Southern University. I really enjoyed working with the marketing manager for my retail marketing project. I decided on my topic during my first day of the rotation as I wanted to gear my project toward a healthy food retail store on campus, known as “Naturals!”, that doesn’t get much traffic due to a poor location. As it turned out, most of the students I spoke with had never heard of it. After conducting my retail marketing nutrition booth, sales increased slightly.
I have enjoyed clinical so far working with several different registered dietitians with various specialties. My prior experience as a Sodexo dietetic technician at The Woman’s Hospital of Texas has helped tremendously in transitioning into my clinical rotation. However, I have learned so much in the past 3 weeks and I am excited for what the rest of this rotation holds!
My best advice to future interns is to make the most of your rotations and tailor it to what you’re interested in but also don’t be afraid to try new things and venture out!
I have enjoyed clinical so far working with several different registered dietitians with various specialties. My prior experience as a Sodexo dietetic technician at The Woman’s Hospital of Texas has helped tremendously in transitioning into my clinical rotation. However, I have learned so much in the past 3 weeks and I am excited for what the rest of this rotation holds!
My best advice to future interns is to make the most of your rotations and tailor it to what you’re interested in but also don’t be afraid to try new things and venture out!
