Megan Racey

 

Megan - NANS Student profile

Why she chose Nutrition & Nutraceutical Sciences

"I didn't originally choose the NANS program. I started in Biological Sciences and then changed to Bio-medical Sciences thinking it would be a great major to prepare me for medical school. During 2nd year, I took NUTR*3210, Fundamentals of Nutrition, with Dr. Kirkland, where I fell in love with nutrition and how applicable it is to every day life. I found this course particularly interesting, and after looking at Food Science and Nutrition programs at Guelph, I decided the NANS program was the best fit for me."


What Megan enjoyed most about the program:

"I love being able to apply the concepts I've learned to my every day life. The field of Nutrition is constantly expanding and we're gaining new knowledge every day, there is so much to explore!

In my 3rd and 4th year classes there was a heavy focus on very recent research; learning about interactions which had just been discovered, and reading literature which had been published that same week. I've always been interested in health and nutrition, being an athlete my whole life, so I love the fact that everything I learn is new to me, and can be used to enhance my healthy lifestyle."


Megan's involvement at the University of Guelph:

"During my years here at Guelph, I was able to stay involved in many extracurricular activities that are important to me. I was part of the Figure Skating Club for my whole four years, acting as president for two of those.

It allowed me to continue skating, a lifelong passion for me, in an uncompetitive, and relaxed environment. The Gryphon's also run learn-to-skate programs where I got to teach people of all ages how to skate. I was Orientation Volunteer as well, helping move kids in to residence and participating in O-week activities. To help my finances, I picked up a part time job on campus at Gryphs (above the arena).

This past year, I was part of the Ms. Infinity Health Science Conference where high school girls were invited to learn more about woman in science. I was in charge of the Nutrition workshop, teaching the girls on how to be conscious of what's in their food, and how to read labels."


Her favourite undergrad course:

"NUTR*4210 Nutrition, Exercise & Metabolism. In this class, we learned how our lifestyle, including diet and exercise habits, have a major effect on our body and overall health. We even learned that lifestyle changes can be used to treat chronic diseases causing more positive long term effects than medication. It really emphasized how important a healthy lifestyle in lowering your risk of many chronic diseases."


What Megan's up to now, and her plans for the future

"I am currently starting my Masters this fall in Human Health and Nutritional Sciences. I chose the coursework program which is 3 semesters in duration, where not only are we able to work with a professor in an area of research, but also get to take more classes related to the nutrition field. I feel there is still so much out there that I still don't know, so this coursework program was a perfect fit for me. I am unsure where I ultimately want to end up after my Masters, but I have some ideas. The more I learn about the field of Nutrition, the more I realize where I want to be in life. Overall, I feel my university career has allowed me to discover and pursue my passions and interests."