Hello! I am Rachel Kitzmiller, and I am currently a freshman at The Ohio State University majoring in human nutrition. I graduated from Minster High School, located in a rural community in northwestern Ohio. While in high school, I was an avid cross country and track runner and competitive swimmer. Amidst athletics and academics, I was devoted to serving my community through Youth Leadership Association and 4-H. My experiences juggling school and extracurriculars in high school is ultimately what sparked my love for nutrition and ignited my passion to help others to achieve an overall state of wellness.
When I think about our society today, I do not think that the general population is physically, mentally, and emotionally well. I see a nation filled with people who are so involved in the hustle and bustle of everyday life that they are forgetting to take care of themselves. I used to be one of those people, always consumed by stress, and sometimes I still am. As a student here at Ohio State, my mission is to gain the tools to change the face of wellness. I am pursuing a medical dietetics career path because I believe that the first step to overall wellness is fueling the body correctly. The way we perform and feel every day is largely based on what we eat and the activities we do. I learned this lesson after years of struggling from fatigue, and now I am determined to teach people about the power of food. Everybody desires to be well, and eating nutritiously is one of the first steps to achieving this.
My professional desire as a student at Ohio State is to become a registered dietitian nutritionist. As a dietitian, I hope to educate as many people as possible by opening my own wellness business. The point of my business would be to counsel ordinary people and athletes on living healthier lives through personalized nutrition plans. I am already gaining experience in the field as a member of the Health Sciences Scholars program and by working as a dietary aide at Otterbein Nursing Home. Both of these experiences are making me a more well-rounded student by exposing me to diverse situations and allowing me to work with people with unique needs.
Everybody deserves the resources to simply be healthy and happy. This E-portfolio is my way to document my journey to professionally achieving this goal. This tool will become a timeline of my unique experiences and progression into a versatile individual.