Introducing our New Insightful Intern: Meet Mikaela Schmeider

Hello, my name is Mikaela and I am a dietetic intern here at Kindred Nutrition. I am originally from Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania and currently a senior at Pennsylvania State University. My major is Nutritional Science with a dietetics option. Nutrition always fascinated me growing up because I loved the way food resembled medicine. Anytime I appeared sick or gloomy, modifying what I ate would make me feel optimal. It can be rough finding fresh food anywhere winter exists. When it isn’t miserably cold outside, I spend my time gardening. Sometimes I find myself looking like an animal that just came out from hibernation searching for fresh food. It’s the little things that make me happy. Aside from gardening one of my favorite things to do is to cook. When I’m finished with school for the year, I spend my summers experimenting with alternative foods. I know a lot of people who are vegetarian, vegan, have food allergies or even gastrointestinal disorders who struggle finding food that doesn’t taste like pencil shavings. I know some people may like the taste of pencil shavings, but I love giving advice to the people who don’t. Changing a diet isn’t a quick fix, it’s a lifestyle change.

Although I never want to leave college, I know that the time has to come. After graduating, my goal is to obtain a dietetic internship to become a Registered Dietitian. I would love to someday work in an outpatient setting. Before coming to Kindred Nutrition, I had some doubts about being a Registered Dietitian, but this experience has shown me how exhilarating it can be to change a person’s life. The outpatient setting is something I enjoy because I love the relationships built between the client/patient and the professional. It would be an honor to be a person’s support system through the problems they face. Although I’m not quite sure what to specialize in, I am very grateful for the experiences here at Kindred Nutrition.

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