During the last few years, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) has helped several students attend the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE). In Fall 2024, three dietetics students received funding from the VP Promise to support their FNCE experiences.
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FNCE is the largest meeting for food and nutrition-focused professional development in the world. Hosted in Minneapolis, MN, this year, the conference included keynote sessions, industry excursions and student-friendly networking opportunities.
CALS junior Olivia Keable and the other students attended the first keynote session. Rishi Manchandra, MD, MPH, talked about the possibilities of health equity through nutrition. Keable found the information so inspiring that it set her on a new career path.
“This session was filled with so much inspiration and insight into increasing nutrition access and improving health across the world,” said Keable. “It ignited my interest for the rest of the conference to look for sessions and individuals that specialize in this.”
CALS students attended several other sessions, including “Debate: Are You What You Eat? Exploring How Diet and Environment Shape the Human Gut Microbiome.” Levi Teigen, Ph.D., and Abigail Johnson, Ph.D., gave their expert opinions on the topic in an interactive debate. CALS senior Taby Acosta appreciated the discussion-based structure.
“I really appreciated hearing both perspectives and their research behind each one, allowing the audience to gather all the evidence and create their own conclusions,” said Acosta.
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Acosta was also a student host at this year’s FNCE. Her responsibilities included three to four hours of volunteering around the conference in exchange for a reduced registration fee. Specific tasks included helping set up a workshop and checking students in for the research poster session.
CALS senior Nirali Patel saw a common theme across FNCE’s sessions: the human nutrition field is very interdisciplinary and encourages collaboration. She noticed how every presentation had a team of professionals, not just a dietician. Doctors, dentists and therapists were just some of the health professionals Patel observed.
“It was a powerful reminder that in healthcare, especially when dealing with complex conditions such as eating disorders, collaboration is everything,” said Patel. “We’re not working in isolation. We’re part of a broader team where every discipline plays a critical role in helping patients.”
Besides participating in conference sessions, the trio explored the expo that featured over 250 booths. The students sampled new food products and networked with company representatives. Acosta, Keable and Patel also learned about different graduate school programs in the expo.
“Overall, FNCE wasn’t just an educational experience; it was a moment of real growth for me. The knowledge I gained, the connections I made, and the inspiration I felt were truly invaluable,” said Patel.
The VP Promise offers financial support to students engaging in experiential learning opportunities within agriculture, natural resources and related sciences. The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences is dedicated to fostering student development and success, encouraging students to expand their horizons through participation in study abroad programs, leadership roles, scholarly conferences, and other enriching experiences.