Impact Articles
Winning Big with Sports Nutrition
The path may have taken a few twists and turns, but Alex Winnicki is currently on the road to living his dream. Winnicki graduated with a business degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and worked for several years as a Robot Programmer. Although the job had great pay and full benefits, Winnicki had a growing interest in cycling, health and wellness. He left the business world and became a professional cyclist for two years. While cycling fueled his craving for physical activity, it left him with many questions about fueling the human body to excel in sports performance. This led him back to school where Winnicki worked on a second degree. Pursuing his dream this time, Winnicki studied nutrition and became a member of the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association. During his senior year, he attended a CPSDA conference in Dallas where he first learned about the Gatorade Sports Nutrition Immersion Program Fellowship. Graduating in 2020 with a B.S. degree in Nutrition and Foods-Dietetics from Appalachian State University, Winnicki knew his next-step was to obtain training through an accredited dietetic internship.
As an aspiring Sports Dietitian, Winnicki found the Lamar University Dietetic Internship Program appealing because of its Nutrition Education and Counseling emphasis; Winnicki also was attracted to LU’s online M.S. in Nutrition because of its affordability, and he appreciated he could complete the degree in one year. Always forward-thinking, while at Lamar University, Winnicki applied for a SNIP Fellowship. 2021 has been an exciting year for Winnicki as he received a SNIP Fellowship, completed LU’s dietetic internship program, was awarded his M.S. in Nutrition degree, and became a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist by passing the Registration Dietitian credentialing examination.
Currently, as a part of the SNIP Fellowship, Winnicki works in the area of sports nutrition at the Walters Athletic Center on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., a few miles north of Chicago. The eight-month fellowship has a “food first” approach and is providing Winnicki the opportunity to work alongside sports dietitians in the areas of administration, clinical, outreach, and food service as they apply to Student Athletes. Winnicki believes his experiences at LU prepared him well for this leg of the race. “The LU internship taught me ‘learning on the fly’ – the time to adapt and learn is short but the internship program coordinator and preceptors are great and provide flexible guidance. I feel I was 100% able to pursue my interest of sports nutrition in both the Dietetic Internship and the online M.S. in Nutrition,” states Winnicki. “The case studies in the internship and the Nutrition Research class were what I consider to be real plus’s to LU’s graduate program. I did not feel distanced in the online M.S. program; the weekly opportunities to connect with professors online were appreciated. The professors, program coordinators and preceptors were caring, available and personable.” So, what’s next for Alex? According to Winnicki, “ After my eight-month SNIP fellowship is over, I would love to find work as a Sports Dietitian in a Power 5 school – I really enjoy working with the collegiate population!”
Written by Dr. Amy Shows
Planning Through the Pandemic: Hope, Happiness & Health
Dr. Tammy Henderson, professor of family studies in the Department of Nutrition, Hospitality & Human Services, is the 2021 Conference Program Chair for the National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference. Because planning a successful national conference takes several years of preparation, both the conference locale and theme, were selected before the global pandemic. Yet, the conference theme, The Science of Families: Hope, Happiness & Health, could not be more timely.
Annually, faculty members, researchers, family professionals and students anticipate the NCFR conference, which has been described as the premier research conference that focuses on children, youth, families and communities. Plenary session presenters are: Dr. Andrea G. Hunter, The Shadow of Suns: Paradigmatic Rifts and the Theoretical Legacies of the Black Struggle in Family Science; Dr. Patricia Matthews-Juarez, Emerging Shapes of Families: The Challenge Toward Family and Social Equity; and Dr. Camara Jones, Four Allegories: Tools for Naming Racism and Moving to Action. The three plenary session presenters will later join Dr. Suzanne Randolph Cunningham for a special session, Racial, Ethnic, & Cultural Influences on Black Mental Health during COVID-19: Lessons Learned and Findings. The conference theme advances to the Call for Papers, The Science of Families: Nurturing Hope, Happiness, & Health in a Special Collection in, Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science, in which Henderson is one of three guest editors.
Henderson states, “Presenters will bring multiple voices, methods, and solutions to consider the impacts of racism, colorism, sexism and more, as they promote hope happiness, and health for families. Participants will gain access to cutting-edge research, evidence-based practices and policies and instructional innovations.” While planning a program during a pandemic has been challenging, Henderson expresses grateful appreciation to the NCFR Staff and team members who have served on the NCFR Conference Program Planning Committee and Umbrella Team.
Written by Dr. Amy Shows