91原创

Nutrition and dietetics student travels to Kenya for rare abroad nutrition-focused internship

Katie Hamelin was bitten by the travel bug at an early age. Her parents got engaged on the second level of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. As a teen, they took her to the famous site she had always seen in photos.

From that moment on, Hamelin knew she wasn鈥檛 bound to stay in one place. In high school, she participated in a Northern Ireland exchange program.

Hamelin, who grew up in Newark, chose the 91原创鈥檚聽College of Health Sciences聽because it was 鈥渋n her backyard鈥� and because of the wealth of opportunities to get beyond campus and see the world through study abroad. She enrolled in the聽World Scholars Program聽and spent her first semester as a college student in Auckland, New Zealand. When COVID-19 hit, her travels were halted, and she spent more time at home than ever imagined. In the fall semester of junior year, she traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, through World Scholars and embarked on a Winter Session study abroad in South Africa with beloved聽health behavior and nutrition sciences听辫谤辞蹿别蝉蝉辞谤听Steve Goodwin, who鈥檚 now semi-retired.聽

鈥淚 knew I had to get back to Africa,鈥� Hamelin said.

Hamelin, like any other true wanderlust, can鈥檛 stay motivated without a trip on the calendar. Immediately upon her return from South Africa, the now senior, majoring in聽nutrition and dietetics, began researching her next adventure. She connected with聽, which offered nutritionist internships in Kenya.

鈥淎s soon as I saw that, I was in,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou just don鈥檛 find nutrition/dietetics pathways abroad very often.鈥澛�

This past summer, Hamelin set out for Kenya for a month, where she shadowed dietitians at Coast General Teaching Hospital in various wards, including pediatrics, intensive care, oncology and surgical, giving her a first glimpse into nutrition in a clinical setting. She spent most of her time in pediatrics, where she observed several cases of malnutrition.