Graduate Student Spotlight | Ashley Day

I entered Hood’s nutrition M.S. program with the goal of becoming a registered dietitian (RD) as a second career. I received my Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising from Kent State in 2011. 

Throughout college and following my graduation, I worked for Nordstrom. I did my internship with them also. I had many roles within the company, but my favorite one was as a customer service manager. In 2014, my aunt decided to open an artisan jewelry shop, so I left Nordstrom to assist her in the process. I helped her open and run the business successfully for five years (it is still open now).

After some major life changes, I fell in love with fitness and nutrition. I got my personal training certification through NASM and left the jewelry store in 2019 to help run the Gaithersburg location of Soldierfit.

In March 2020, the pandemic changed everything. We had to close the gyms temporarily, and I was down to half a paycheck. My partner and I talked, and I decided that the time would pass either way, so I should take the leap of faith and head back to school to pursue my passion for nutrition.

I started the process of becoming an RD in 2021. I had many prerequisites to take, as my undergraduate was very light in science. I knew it was going to take a couple of years to finish all the prereqs alone, so I started looking for a combined dietetics program to accelerate the process once I got into a graduate program.

By early 2023, I was finishing up the prereq journey. I was in the gym one day, and a friend of mine was talking about her experience at Hood. She then informed me that she heard that Hood was reopening their dietetics program, and I reached out to Anne Davis (the previous program director) that same day. Also, my partner got both his undergrad and graduate degree at Hood and had nothing but amazing things to say about it.

The plethora of opportunities [Professor Joanna Eaton] has been able to provide. Through her own connections, she has taken us on multiple meaningful field trips and connected us with amazing individuals through guest speakers and volunteer activities. 

Also, Professor Eaton and Hollis Caswell (the simulation director of the nursing program) created opportunities for us to participate in simulations to help us feel comfortable moving into our clinical internships. Our cohort is a little family, and the connections I made with them and with the Hood community are the most meaningful part of the journey thus far. 

The connections I am making through volunteer and internship experiences will be invaluable in the future. Also, our internships are immersive and allow me to explore the many potential career paths that being an RD offers.

When the program first started in fall 2023, Anne Davis (our then program director) left two weeks into the semester. She was not only our director, but the professor for two of our classes and our counselor.

Honestly, I was unsure the program would survive. Without our current director, Joanna Eaton, I am not sure we would be where we are today. She has singlehandedly saved the program. She found placements for all of us for our internships, has gracefully taken our feedback and made meaningful changes to the program and curriculum already and supports us every day.

I feel like I am creating the program alongside of here and my cohort mates, the process is collaborative, and we are all learning together every day. I am so grateful for her and for the team at Hood.

Inspired by Ashley’s accomplishments in the nutrition dietetics program? Ready to #GOFURTHER in your career? Learn more about Hood College’s graduate programs, such as nutrition, by clicking here.