Dear Dr.

Barbara Woodland, As I look back at what I have experienced in the past four years I have asked myself, Who am I now?. Only that many years ago my father passed away and my family faced numerous financial and personal challenges. I went through a grieving process, but once my life started to balance out again I was still conflicted about who I was. Was I the person before or after the crisis? I first started reflecting inward to discover my true self and realized what an empathetic, mature person I had become. With self-exploration I focused on my first memories, especially my favorite experiences of cooking and baking healthy food with my parents. Then I realized, while studying in New Zealand, that nutrition was my passion. I began to discover who I am and what I am passionate about, understanding that if I do not know myself I cannot know and help others. I then transferred to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities while half way around the world to major in nutrition. I want to enter the dietetics field to impart my knowledge on others and share my passion. I want to specifically work with a diverse group of people from different cultures in a community and public health setting. I am a high achiever and want to be a prominent figure in the dietetic profession. This makes me an excellent candidate for the Sodexo Distance Education Dietetic Internship Program, as one of the emphases is leadership. My nutrition-related experience over the past two years has created a strong foundation in the three areas your internship emphasizes. As a home health aide for Visiting Angels I work with elderly clients with diverse backgrounds and life experiences. I construct clients meal plans based on dietary restrictions and personal preferences along with providing personal care and companionship. Therefore, I am able to recognize clients needs and wants to provide the best care and enhance their quality of life. Another opportunity that expanded my foundation was volunteering with Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Hennepin County. I worked with a culturally diverse group of clients, especially with the African American and Hispanic population. I educated them about Farmers Market Vouchers and dispensed vouchers to eligible participants. I actively engaged with the staff to gain invaluable knowledge about interacting with the WIC participant population and the nutrition guidelines for pregnant and lactating women, infants and children up to the age of five. I currently volunteer for Neighborhood HealthSource (NHS), a Minneapolis community clinic with predominantly Hispanic, African American, Hmong and Somali clients. I have worked alongside their dietitian during patient visits, independently lead eight weeks of nutrition classes, and continuously create nutrition resources. To do that, I am given specific nutritionrelated conditions to research and prepare nutritional handouts and informational displays for clients. I then compile individual folders with various handouts for clients based on their medical conditions. Additionally, I volunteer at Fairview Medical Center of Minneapolis in the Clinical Nutrition Department. I chiefly conduct inpatient diet audits to determine if patients have met their dietary restrictions the previous day. I document if and why they did not meet their restrictions for the clinical nutrition manager. With both my nutrition-related work and volunteer experience I have constructed a prodigious foundation making me an ideal candidate for your internship. My most immediate short-term goal is to secure a position at the Sodexo Distance dietetic internship program. My long-term goals include becoming a dietitian and ideally working with a

diverse group of people in the community and public health setting in a leadership position. Through work and volunteering I most enjoy the flexibility and self-directed work I am granted. I have most enjoyed the ability to assume leadership roles, which is why I am most interested in your program. One of my greatest strengths is the ability to take on leadership roles and the responsibilities that come with it. One example is my role as primary caregiver for a longstanding Visiting Angels client with type 2 diabetes. I took the initiative to encourage healthier eating practices and once I gained the trust of my client, her family, and my supervisor, I then planned her meals and did her grocery shopping. I successfully lowered her blood glucose levels from 400 mg/dL to 200 mg/dL regularly. I also provided other caregivers with recipes and tips to deliver optimal care. Another one of my strengths is working independently, which I have successfully done while volunteering for NHS. Specifically, I was given 25 nutrition-related conditions from my NHS supervisor to create handouts under a deadline. Keeping myself organized and being self-directed is how I accomplished meeting that deadline. Organizational and time-management skills are also the keys to my strong GPA and positive references. The great variety of clients I interact with have enhanced my experience and comfort working with different cultures. It also shows my ability to be flexible and change my approach with each client to ensure the information provided is well understood. I pride myself in demonstrating exceptional communication skills. I have effectively educated NHS clients about nutrition concepts, am in constant contact with my work and volunteer supervisors, and I interact with Visiting Angels clients during every shift. I enjoy a busy lifestyle, but one of my weaknesses is that I sometimes sign myself up for more than is feasible. I have learned how to stay balanced, striving to keep my quality of life so I can work and study more efficiently. Another weakness is my lack of nutrition-related foodservice experience outside of classroom projects. However, through classroom projects I have absorbed ample information that will transfer to the foodservice rotation of the internship. Reviewing the Sodexo Distance Education internship program I find that the special emphases of leadership, self-direction, and flexibility make your program ideal for me. My strong work and volunteer experience capitalizing on leadership opportunities, displaying selfdirection, and flexibility make me a competitive candidate for your internship. The empathy and maturity I have developed in light of my traumatic experiences will assist me in working with any client population. It is also another reason why I am a more competitive candidate than other applicants. Your internship would allow me to best follow my passion and I would deeply appreciate the opportunity to be a part of your internship program at Sodexo Distance Education. I thank you for your consideration and hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, Sonja Mydels