MAND January Student/Intern Spotlight: Meghan Swartz

Meghan Swartz, Graduate Student          

University of Alabama MS+DPD 

“My name is Meghan and I live in St. Paul with my husband, 9-month-old son and our dog. We just moved here a year ago as my husband is finishing his degree at University of Minnesota. I’m currently a distance student in the University of Alabama’s combined master’s and DPD program. I’ll graduate from the MS program in May and finish up my DPD in December 2023. I’m a bit of a non-traditional student and career change — right now I work in HR and communications for a small manufacturing company, and I previously worked in journalism, community relations and marketing. I completed my undergrad degree in journalism at Mizzou in 2015. My husband just separated from the navy last year, so the last several years included lots of moves and job changes. I’m originally from the Chicago suburbs, but have also lived in San Diego and most recently Guam for 3.5 years. I’ve had an interest in health and nutrition since I was in high school, when I saw a holistic doctor who focused on the importance of nutrition. I was so fascinated by how different foods and ways of eating could have an effect on my health and well-being. Later on as a reporter, I loved covering food, health and the environment, but felt that I wanted to do something that was more proactive; and so decided to go back to school to become a registered dietitian. I’m still narrowing down the career path I want to pursue, but I’m very interested in outpatient nutrition counseling, sustainable food systems, maternal/infant nutrition and school nutrition. In my free time I love doing anything outdoors (especially hiking and paddle boarding), baking, or checking out new state parks with my family.”

“As a distance student, I’m so excited to get to meet more RD2Bs in person. I love planning and coordinating events and bringing people together. I previously volunteered with the HEN DPG, which was an amazing way to meet RDs and students from across the country, but now I’m really looking forward to getting more involved locally with Minnesota’s nutrition community. I can’t wait to get started!”