Nutrition Mentoring PODS
Grow your professional network, make a plan for graduate school, and receive guidance from Registered Dietitian Nutritionists!
Nutrition Mentoring PODS is a completely virtual mentorship program that matches undergraduate students from Main, Yuma, and Arizona Online campuses with a small group of mentors, including graduate-level dietetics students and UArizona alumni, faculty, and staff who are Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs). This program is designed to promote a sense of belonging and to support students from diverse backgrounds who aspire to become dietetics professionals.
In the Nutrition Mentoring PODS program, students attend monthly scheduled online meetings and receive guidance on how to explore and set goals to advance in the dietetics pathway. At these meetings, graduate students will serve in dual roles as mentors and mentees.
As an undergraduate student mentee, you will grow your professional network, make a plan to get into graduate school and earn your RDN credential, and gain valuable new mentors to support you along the way.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: August 8, 2022
TIME COMMITMENT: ~3 hours per week, plus attendance at one required meeting or event per month, September - April.
Funding for this program is supported by the MENTOR Institute Seed Grants at the University of Arizona for 2022-2023.
As a student mentee in the Nutrition Mentoring PODS program, you will grow your network in dietetics and participate in activities to support you as you prepare to apply to graduate school and pursue careers in dietetics.
As a participant in the Nutrition Mentoring PODS Program, you will:
- Participate in a graduate school / dietetic internship exploration class taught by an academic advisor and registered dietitian, and prepare an individualized action plan for applying to graduate programs (Fall 2022).
- Attend 1 mentor meeting or program per month, between September 2022 and April 2023. At the start of the program, you will be matched into a small group of fellow undergraduate dietetics students, graduate dietetics students, and dietetics professionals. In these groups, you will discuss many topics related to graduate school and careers in dietetics. By the end of the year, your small mentoring group will become a part of your growing network of current and future dietetics professionals.
| MONTH | DATE & Time (All meeting times are in tucson, az time) |
|---|---|
| September | Monday, September 12, 2022 | 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm |
| October | Monday, October 10, 2022 | 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm |
| November | Wednesday, November 2, 2022 | 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm |
| December | Monday, December 5, 2022 | 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm |
| January | Monday, January 23, 2023 | 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm |
| February | Monday, February 20, 2023 | 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm |
| March | Monday, March 20, 2023 | 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm |
| April | Monday, April 17, 2023 | 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm |
| Late April / Early May | Wrap-Up: Complete final surveys |
- Currently declared as a pre-major or major in Nutritional Sciences, with an emphasis on dietetics and/or are enrolled in the DPD certificate program.
- Expected graduation from the University of Arizona is December 2023 or later.
- Increase your knowledge and understanding of how to apply for and be accepted into graduate school and dietetics pathways.
- Increase the number of mentors in your support network, as well as the size of your network in dietetics.
- Create SMART Goals and a comprehensive action plan outlining next steps to advance in the dietetics profession pathway.
- Improve your preparedness and competitiveness to apply for dietetics graduate programs and jobs in dietetics.
- Mentees receive a $100 stipend for participating in the program.
For questions about the program, please contact:
Ashlee Linares-Gaffer, MS, RDN
Director of Student Success, Retention, and Equity
Associate Professor of Practice
alinares@arizona.edu (link sends email)