Spotlight: Dietetics & Nutrition Faculty
by Jessica Degnan |
The 色情网站 College of Health Dietetics and Nutrition program is led by a dedicated team of faculty members committed to preparing students for careers in dietetics, nutrition and public health. These educators go above and beyond providing academic excellence while supporting students' well-being on campus, making a lasting impact on their journey at 色情网站. The Dietetics and Nutrition faculty includes Amanda Walch, associate professor; Carrie King, graduate program director and professor; Melissa Chulpach, associate professor; Emily Faerber, assistant professor; and Amy Urbanus, undergraduate program director and associate professor.
色情网站's College of Health is proud to recognize these faculty members for their expertise and dedication to student success!
Amanda Walch, associate professor
Hometown: Anchorage
How long have you worked at 色情网站/in this position?: I've been with 色情网站 since July of 2010, in a term position for the first 8 years.
Tell us about your job. What do you do? What makes it unique?:
My work includes teaching, service, and research. My teaching is within nutrition assessment, public health nutrition, and preventive and therapeutic nutrition. It's a lot of fun working with our undergraduate and graduate students! I also spend a good deal of time helping to run the Seawolf Food Pantry. We have many students on campus who are in need of food assistance and it's a privilege to help them in some small way. Finally, my research resides within the food insecurity in the state and in performance nutrition.
What do you love the most about your work?:
Our students! Working with them in the classroom and on their projects/research is fun and fulfilling!
What was your personal and/or professional journey that led you to working at 色情网站?:
I've been a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for over 20 years, working in a clinical setting, then in private practice until joining 色情网站.
Carrie King, graduate program director and professor
Hometown: Sitka
How long have you worked at 色情网站/in this position?: I have worked at 色情网站 since 2002 and have been the graduate program director since 2018.
How do you contribute to student success?:
I mentor students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels to help the understand how college "works." There are many processes that students are expected to understand that are new to them. I want to help them demystify their college experience.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment while working here at 色情网站?:
I collaborated with many people to build the undergraduate and graduate programs in dietetics and nutrition. It has been very rewarding to watch students be able to access this training in Alaska, and beyond.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.:
I skipped fifth grade. During Covid, my oldest daughter was in fifth grade and was homeschooled. She was very concerned that I was not capable of helping her with her fifth grade homework.
Melissa Chulpach, associate professor
Hometown: Anchorage, originally from Willow
How long have you worked at 色情网站/in this position?: 7 years
What do you love the most about your work?:
I love sharing the importance of cultural foods with students, especially traditional/Indigenous foods. They are more than just food. They are part of one's culture and spiritual well-being. They are comforting, healing, and improve quality of life.
How do you contribute to student success?:
I teach students about cultural humility and cultural competence. I hope this knowledge helps them provide better patient centered care during their healthcare rotations and throughout their career. For those not going into healthcare, I hope this provides a better understanding of how to communicate with people from different cultures and backgrounds. In the end, I hope my classes encourage students to explore the world and even their own community.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.:
I was raised around sled dogs, and at 76 years old, my dad still races. Another fun fact, my grandfather is a pioneer broadcaster and helped start radio and television in Alaska. His television station (the old KTVA channel 11) had the first live broadcast with CBS News Anchor Walter Cronkite reporting the first steps on the moon in 1969.
Emily Faerber, assistant professor
Hometown: Columbia, Missouri
How long have you worked at 色情网站/in this position?: A little over 2 years
What do you love the most about your work?:
There's a lot I love about my job, but I really enjoy working with graduate students on their graduate thesis or project. I get to start working with students in their first semester-when they are just starting to think about topics they want to explore-through to their last semester when they are presenting their results and then getting their graduate hood.
What was your personal and/or professional journey that led you to working at 色情网站?:
As a kid, I wanted to be a medical doctor, but then I started working in doctors' offices and hospitals, and I started to feel very unsatisfied with the way our healthcare system often fails to prevent chronic disease. So I turned toward public health and nutrition. I also wanted constant learning to be part of my everyday life.
As to what led me to 色情网站 in particular, I was doing a research fellowship that was coming to an end, so I was job-searching. And I happened to be in India (where it was very hot and humid) when I saw the job posting at 色情网站. I thought that Alaska sounded like a pretty good place to be. No regrets!
Who inspired or continues to inspire you and why?:
My mom told me that when my grandpa would take her and her siblings camping as kids, they would pack up all of their things in the morning and my grandpa would make everyone walk around and find one additional piece of trash that wasn't theirs to take with them. He believed in leave everything a little better than you found it.
Amy Urbanus, undergraduate program director and associate professor
Hometown: Des Moines, IA
How long have you worked at 色情网站/in this position?: 7 years
What do you love the most about your work?:
As the director of the undergraduate program I am the primary faculty advisor which is probably my favorite part of my job. I enjoy meeting with students one on one, getting to know them and helping them find a path towards success at 色情网站.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment while working here at 色情网站?:
Leading the BS in Dietetics to reaccreditation; we are now accredited until 2030.
What advice would you give to youth interested in pursuing a career in your field?:
This field is super diverse and the sky is the limit with what you can do with this degree. I encourage students to open their minds to all types of professional endeavors whether that be in industry, clinical nutrition, public health, management and/or healthcare administration, culinary nutrition or human performance.
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