Listen to nutrition students at lunch on Wednesdays

Tired of the same old song and dance about diets this time of year?

Change it up by spending a lunch hour on Wednesdays listening to presentations on the subject by the students studying Nutrition and Exercise Physiology.

It just might be a good way to jump start a new diet or pick up some tips on creating healthier habits.

Starting on January 17, the students will take turns giving presentations in the HERB 317 classroom, beginning at 12:10 p.m., and continuing weekly on Wednesdays through most of the semester. All faculty, staff and students are invited. Some people bring their lunch, some don’t.  (No lunches are examined or judged for content.)

The students choose topics they think may be of interest to a general audience.

“People in the audience often have good questions and those are reminders for the students about what people know and don’t know and what they are interested in,” said Shannon Dunn, (pictured here) a registered dietician and co-instructor of the senior practicum, which is a two-semester NEP course required for seniors. Those seniors are the students responsible for the lunch presentations.

Dunn checks with the students a week before the presentation to make sure they are prepared and offer any suggestions that she can. She then attends all the presentations but usually does not need to assist the students in answering any questions because they are prepared.

Dunn was one of those students just two years ago. Since that time she got her master’s degree in the Coordinated Dietetics Program (MSCPD) and became a registered dietician.

She is co-instructor for lead instructor Julie Larsen, also a registered dietician (RD) as well as a certified exercise specialist (CES).

Shannon is co-instructor of the practicum (NEP Clinic) for seniors done in their last year of the undergraduate program. Instructor of record is Julie Larsen, Ph.D., RD and RCEP (registered clinical exercise physiologist).

The Wednesday lunch presentations are just a small portion of the hands-on, two semester practicum course taken by the NEP seniors in their last year of the undergraduate program. The NEP Clinic, which offers group exercise and one-on-one mentoring for exercise and nutrition, is more familiar to those on campus. Currently, the clinic has no waiting list for the noon session on Mondays and Wednesdays, and only two people on the waiting list for the 4:30 p.m. session those days. If you want to know more or signup, contact Dunn at Shannon.dunn@wsu.edu.