Why I love what I do

I don't ever want to forget this great feeling, so I'm going to just put it out there. This week was pretty busy for Chandler School District Food and Nutrition Department (where I currently am for my internship). We put on a wellness expo for all of the school district employees. It was such an amazing experience to see this expo behind the scenes and all of the work that goes into it. The district really cares about wellness and it is a great time for me to be part of it.

Here's where my excitement comes in. When I first started my rotation at the beginning of September, the director told me that they wanted me to teach a class, which would be mandatory for all food service employees (about 250). The class would cover a few basic nutrition principles, including: understanding/reading a food label, proper portion control, decreasing saturated fat and sodium in home cooking and safe preparation of fresh fruits and vegetables. I began preparing my class as soon as I started there.

Tuesday was the big day. I taught my class 3 times to a total of about 340 people. It was such an amazing experience! The reason for that is that after the class I had quite a few people come up to me or find me during the day to tell me that I made a difference and that I taught them something new. They told me that they planned to make changes in their lives based on the things they learned in the class. All day, the other dietitians and the director were telling me that they were hearing positive things about my class all over the expo. I felt so good all day. This was the first time I ever really received validation for the things that I was doing from an audience or clientele. My first experience counseling at WIC was good and interesting, but there weren't really any clients that seemed grateful for what I was teaching them. It felt like they were there to get their food vouchers and get out. I am so grateful to have received the thanks and the kind messages after my class, because I felt like I truly made a difference. It feels so good to help others. What a blessing it is.