Grad's guide to graduate admissions essays - Colleen Reding 2015
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Gillings school of global public health
Medicine/nursing/health
Quite frankly, I get it. I understand the pressure. I understand the need for your body to move both gracefully and fiercely across the stage. I have received the praise, I’ve heard the criticisms, and I’ve both struggled with and acknowledged my flaws. In so many ways, I get it.
When I enrolled at a Cecchiti ballet studio at age 4, I never imagined how hard I would fall in love with dance. Over the next 14 years, my passion evolved gracefully, as if each double pirouette and pas de bourrée unfolded a different dimension of my love for ballet. The main reason that I fell so hard for dance was my studio; it empowered me to be as serious about the art form as I pleased. Though I was encouraged to focus, stretch, and improve, I was never expected to transform my life or body for dance.
Over time, as I improved and started attending regional and national dance conventions and performances, I discovered that many young girls at other studios were not granted the same liberties. I saw how girls who faced rigorous demands consequently demanded too much from their own bodies. Negative body image and eating disorders flourished around me, and I could sympathize with their frustrations. While I was thankfully among the pack that was, for the most part, able to receive and ignore harsh dance and body criticisms, I watched so many friends and fellow dancers struggle. I became fascinated that we could all wear the same leotards, the same shoes, and move and stretch to the exact same exercises every evening … and react so differently.
Over the next 10 years, I recognized two very important things. First, the demands on the ballet community are extreme, and the goals placed before these girls can often not be reached. Second, these girls and boys who struggle with eating disorders do not just need therapists to counsel them; they need compassionate professionals in every field who will promote positive body image and self-confidence.
For so many years, I was tunnel-visioned toward a career as a clinical psychologist so I could be a therapist for these dancers. I rarely considered any other options. Then, when completing my clinical hours during my Masters in Health Psychology at the University of St Andrews, I discovered a fascinating intersection of psychology and physical health. The health psychologists in Scotland spent hours talking to individuals recently diagnosed with diabetes who were struggling with both the reality of the diagnosis and the new lifestyle required to control their symptoms. They advised other patients with heart disease who had no idea how to reduce their cholesterol and develop a healthier lifestyle. The health psychologists equally valued the physical and mental health of each patient, and they spent time nurturing both dimensions.
Then, when I accepted a position as a research assistant at a center focusing on eating disorders, I saw how my passion for psychology, my lifelong interest in eating disorder research, and the balance of physical and mental health converged on one field: nutrition. Dietitians help patients with eating disorders overcome their deep fear of change. They value the physical health of each patient by devising individual meal plans and manageable goals while remaining sympathetic of their fear of weight gain and guilt. Just like the health psychologists in Scotland, these dietitians contribute to the physical and mental health of each patient, and I found their passion to be incredibly inspiring.
The Masters in Public Health/Registered Dietitian program at UNC is specifically designed to help its students explore and appreciate all dimensions of health. Unlike so many registered dietitian programs, the UNC curriculum is focused on creating balanced practitioners; students are exposed to scientific, psychological, and social aspects of health. I want to attend a program that will expose me to every area, challenging me to evolve into an effective member of the public and private health sectors. The MPH/RD program at UNC provides this unique opportunity.
Additionally, though I am confident in my passion for eating disorders, I am committed to remaining open-minded about my career and specialties. My career path has already evolved a number of different times, drawing me toward specific classes, certain internships, and different professional relationships with professors and postdoctoral students. During the MPH/RD program, I will take classes on maternal/child health, nutrition for the elderly, and nutritional epidemiology. I will journey with my UNC classmates to Washington, DC, to be part of health’s political movement. I will work each summer in public health and clinical settings. This specific program at UNC will allow my passion for public health and nutrition to continue to evolve during every course and summer experience.
Additionally, having spent the past 2 years as a research intern and then research assistant/coordinator, I am passionate about continuing to help with ongoing eating disorder research projects. I recognize the need for informed dietitians to contribute ideas to new and continuing research studies, and I would love to begin helping in this capacity.
When I complete my degree, I am excited to become a dietitian who continues working with ballet dancers and other athletes to help them to both strengthen their bodies and maintain a healthy, realistic lifestyle. I will work with my clients to develop meal plans, to explain basic nutrition, and to provide valuable advice for change. Simultaneously, I will always strive to convey a message of body acceptance and self-love. Why? These impressionable young boys and girls need someone who equally values physical and mental health. They also need someone who understands the pressure … and in so many ways, I get it.
