Sam I Am

Pursuing a career in nutrition has been a goal of mine since my senior year of high school, when I decided to teach myself how to cook healthy meals in preparations for going off to college. After high school, I wanted to sharpen my cooking skills even further, so I obtained my Associates degree in culinary arts from Le Cordon Bleu in Mendota Heights, MN. Upon finishing my degree, I accepted an externship at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. This led to a full-time position as a cook 1 at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort.

I spent the next few years learning the ropes of the kitchen. I became a trainer, learned how to work every station, and had the opportunity to be part of an opening team for a new restaurant. After I got some job experience under my belt, I decided to return to school to pursue dietetics, and officially begin my journey to become a Registered Dietitian.

I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida, and accepted an internship through Andrew’s University in Michigan. I completed my food service, community, and clinical rotations in the Central Florida area. Now at the conclusion of my internship, I couldn’t be more excited about using the skills I’ve obtained thus far to help others with their nutrition goals.

Supervised Practice

Dietetic Internship - August 2020 to April 2021

Andrew's University - Berrien Springs, MI

 

Clinical

Advent Health Waterman

Taveres, FL

 
  • Evaluating patients who are at risk for malnutrition and conduct NFPEs

  • Providing inpatient educations on a variety of nutrition topics including low sodium, consistent carbohydrate, renal, and heart healthy

  • Assessing patients with various medical conditions such as renal, cardiac, ICU, GI, cancer, and pressure injuries

  • Calculate nutrition requirements for patients based on the individual’s physical and metabolic needs

  • Providing nutrition recommendations for enteral and parenteral nutrition as well as PO diets

  • Participate in multidisciplinary rounds in the ICU and provided input on best nutritional care for patients

  • Co-taught an outpatient group diabetes class

Food Service

Advent Health Waterman

Taveres, FL

 
  • Participated in the preparation of food for the tray-line and cafeteria using standardized recipes

  • Conducted quality checks of food products including checking for labels, discarding expired products, and taking temperatures

  • Developed a mock 7-day menu for the hospital suitable for general healthful, heart healthy, consistent carbohydrate, and ground diets, which included vegetarian options each day

  • Organized and executed a themed meal to serve in the hospital cafeteria

  • Conducted and presented a performance improvement project aimed at improving temperatures of hot food upon delivery to patient rooms

Community & Wellness

WIC

(no patient contact due to COVID-19 restrictions)

 
  • Create educational handouts on vegetarian nutrition during pregnancy 

  • Shadow nutritionists as they assessed different clientele for nutrition risks

 

Hebni Nutrition Consultants Inc

 
  • Design a mock community project to help an underserved community get access to nutritional information and fresh produce

 

Kelly Jones Nutrition

 
  • Wrote a blog post centered around student athlete nutrition and easy dorm room meals 

  • Shot and edited a video on how to cook tofu and tempeh

Work Experience

 

Server Assistant

Walt Disney World Resort

Orlando, FL

Oct 2015 -

 
  • Assist servers, bartenders, and cooks with work-related tasks to best serve restaurant guests

  • Quality check food for accuracy of preparedness and meets guest’s special dietary requests

 

Cook 1

Walt Disney World Resort

Orlando, FL

May 2012 - Oct 2015

 
  • Worked all stations including grill, sauté, ovens, and pantry 

  • Expedited busy dinner services 

  • Trained new employees on all stations 

  • Prepared special items to accommodate guests with food allergies and dietary restrictions

Education

 

Bachelor's of Science: Dietetics

University of Florida

Orlando, FL

May 2020

 

Associate of Applied Science: Culinary Arts

Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts

Mendota Heights, MN

May 2012

Final Thoughts

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Short Term Goals

  1. Take and pass the RD exam within 4 months of completing my internship

  2. Find a full-time job as an RD in a hospital or diabetes education center by the end of 2021

  3. Become a preceptor for future RD’s within my first year of being a dietitian.

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Long Term Goals

  1. Become a Certified Diabetes Educator within the next 5 years.

  2. Begin obtaining my Master’s Degree within the next 5-6 years.

  3. Build a relationship with local community organizations, to provide cooking lessons to underserved populations within the next 5 years.

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Hobbies/Interests

My biggest interest outside of nutrition is plants. I have 50-75 plants in my small apartment that I care for, and the collection is always expanding. I do cross stitch and embroidery, and am currently teaching myself how to sew. I run 5ks and half marathons on a regular basis, with my favorite being the Star Wars half marathon at Walt Disney World. On my days off, I love to play video games or go to the theme parks with my friends.