Graduate Students
Meet Our Graduate Students
Emily Norman, RDN
Following her bachelor's degree from the University of Mississippi, Emily decided to return home to continue her education. After finishing the Dietetic Internship through UK, she was accepted into a Graduate Assistantship position through the UK Athletics Performance Nutrition Team and chose to pursue her master's degree through the Nutrition and Food Systems Program. She plans to continue to seek experience in sports dietetics once she graduates as she has enjoyed her time guiding and educating athletes on optimal nutrition choices.
Sydney McIntosh
Sydney McIntosh is a student in the Nutrition and Food Systems Master's Program. After graduation she plans to complete a dietetic internship to achieve her dream of becoming a registered dietitian. Sydney has always had a passion for learning about healthy lifestyles and for helping others achieve their goals.
Katie Pickford
Katie decided to apply to UK’s Nutrition and Food Systems Master’s program because of her ties to farming in Louisville, KY. She sought to strengthen and broaden her background in nutrition science by exploring food systems and the wicked problems which exist in them. So far, she has found this program amplifies her passions for food and farming and provides her with the necessary knowledge to pursue a career in Cooperative Extension where she can be an active member in a community’s local food system.
Micaela Stroud
Micaela Stroud is a first-year graduate student in the Master of Nutrition and Food Systems program. She also received her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from UK. Micaela has a passion for helping others and believes providing nutrition education is a great way to do it! She hopes to work as a clinical dietitian after graduation.
Lauren Ginter
Lauren is a first-year master's student. She completed her B.S in Dietetics at UK through their Coordinated Program and decided to continue her education the department because of its supportive faculty. After graduation Lauren would like to pursue a career in school food service, as a food service director.
Dolph Davis III
Dolph is a former chef who took an interest in the connection between health and food while spending time with hospital staff. Currently finishing his Master's thesis, he hopes to attend a clinical internship after finishing before returning to become licensed as a registered dietitian. Dolph plans to continue in research as well as clinical work. He has an interest in oncology nutrition, as well as gestational dysfunctions related to nutrition.
Lucy Valdez, RDN
Lucy Valdez is in her second year in this program and is currently a teaching assistant for DHN 212 and a research assistant in Dr. Shoemaker's lab. She received her B.S. degree in Dietetics from the University of Kentucky in 2019 and finished her dietetic internship with UK and became a registered dietitian in 2021. She decided to join the program because she wanted to further her education in nutrition and learn more about research in this field. Her plan immediately after graduation is to continue working with her mentor Dr. Robin Shoemaker to train as a program coordinator. She would also like to get more involved with UK's Cooperative Extension.