With goals and dreams of helping people live their best and healthiest lives, Letisha Bates and Logan Dowd know their education from Middle Tennessee State University's Nutrition and Food Science program will help them succeed in their future careers.
Both majoring in Nutrition and Food Science with a concentration in Dietetics, Bates and Dowd said there was no question MTSU was where they wanted to continue their educations and earn their degrees.
"It just felt like home at MTSU. I knew the people at MTSU would care if I did well and would be there to help me, and that's the kind of environment I wanted for myself,” said Bates, who worked as a nurse for 10 years.
As Nutrition and Food Science majors, Bates and Dowd said their opportunities and experiences in the classroom and labs with their classmates and professors are unmatched.
"My professors and peers are some of the most amazing people I've ever come across,” Dowd said. “My professors are amazing; not only are they teaching me everything we need to know, but they're also applying a lot of life knowledge and wisdom. They make it where you want to be passionate about it, and you fall in love with it."
"All of our courses are truly preparing us not only for our credential but also for what it is going to be like in the real world, what we're going to face and what we're going to encounter," Bates explained.
Bates and Dowd, their professors, and the entire senior Dietetics class will head to Denver in October to attend the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo, a nationwide conference for nutrition professionals.
“I personally feel that this program has given me a lot of opportunities and a lot of knowledge that I don't think would be found in other programs," Dowd said. "I really do feel like it's going to help me be the best I can be in the future."
Bates and Dowd will graduate in May 2024. Both plan to pursue their master's degrees after graduation and focus their careers on women's health. Dowd also would like to work in higher education at some point in her career.
MTSU offers several concentrations in the Nutrition and Food Science program, including Dietetics, Family and Consumer Science Education, Food Industry, and Nutrition and Wellness.