Paul Halloran
1. What is your educational background?
My educational background is somewhat unique. My passions have always been cooking and food science. I pursued an Associate’s degree in Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. I furthered my education at Johnson & Wales by receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition. On my way to becoming a registered dietitian, I decided to combine my dietetic internship with my Master’s degree at Framingham State University.
2. How did you get involved in the nutrition field?
I got involved in the field of nutrition through my first passion of cooking. Like many in dietetics, I knew from a young age what I wanted to do. It was my mother who first taught me the skills to turn my messy kitchen catastrophes into culinary works of art. The rest is history after my first course in nutrition. Hearing my professor’s experiences in the clinical setting had me hooked.
3. What are you presently doing in the nutrition field?
Currently, I am a clinical dietitian working in the inpatient setting. I cover the inpatient dialysis center, renal transplant surgery, and a general medical-surgical floor.
4. What do you like to do for fun in your spare time?
In my spare time I enjoy exploring my creative side, as the clinical setting has little room for creativity. My hobbies include knitting, sewing, reading, and crafting. Whenever possible, I enjoy weekend escapes to my home state of NH to be in the mountains. Depending on the time of year I enjoy running, skiing, hiking, and cycling.
5. Do you do any volunteer work in the nutrition field or in your community? If so, please describe.
Ain’t nobody got time for that! (Paul keeps his co-workers laughing with his great sense of humor!)
6. If you would like to include info on your family, please add some details including if you have any pets!
My fiancé and I live in Worcester, MA with our pet cat, Jojo. She enjoys sunbathing year round and occasionally people watching. Clearly she has the most difficult career of the house.
7. Is there anything else you would like to do in your career?
In the future I plan to continue pursuing opportunities to challenge myself and grow professionally. Just starting in my career, I have been fortunate to be part of a group of experienced RDs. One day I hope to combine my experiences and passions to serving others in the community.
Anna O'Brien
1. What is your educational background?
I completed both my undergraduate degree and dietetic internship at UMass Amherst.
2. How did you get involved in the nutrition field?
I can’t pinpoint exactly what drew me to the nutrition field. I believe my interest stemmed from watching my parents as I grew up. My dad is a fantastic cook; I remember watching him in the kitchen from a very early age. I have always been interested in cooking and I think that this is what drew me to a profession involving food. My mom works as a nurse in Boston; listening to her talk about caring for patients and varying medical conditions is what drew me to a career incorporating the health field. I have a cousin who was diagnosed with IBD when she we were in children and I watched, fascinated, as she was able to tolerate some foods while others made her ill. This is the first time that I considered how much of an impact different foods can have on the body. It seemed fitting that I go on to study nutrition.
3. What are you presently doing in the nutrition field?
I work at Baystate Medical Center as an inpatient clinical dietitian. Right now, I cover one of the neurology floods and a surgical floor.
4. What do you like to do for fun in your spare time?
Some of my non health and food related interests include photography and football. I have been interested in photography for years. I took courses in high school and even won some local contests! Recently, one of my coworkers and I took a photography class together. I have been enjoying getting back into the swing of photography and trying to sharpen my skills! Similarly, I have enjoyed watching football for many years. Growing up in MA, I am obviously a Pats fan. I have only been to one NFL game but I have been to many, many college games. My boyfriend, Dan, played for UMass and I still try to attend as many of their home games as I can.
5. Do you do any volunteer work in the nutrition field or in your community? If so, please describe.
Last year I started to help with the annual WAMDA road race as one of the food and beverage coordinators and I will be continuing in this role for this year’s race.
6. If you would like to include info on your family, please add some details including if you have any pets!
As I mentioned above my mom is a nurse, my dad works as an engineer. I grew up in eastern MA with 3 siblings and a dog. My oldest sister, Katherine, has her PhD in biology and is currently living in Ohio working at OSU as an adjunct professor. My other sister, Sara, currently lives in Pennsylvania where she works at a sushi restaurant and is working on a master’s degree in library sciences. My twin brother, Nathan, lives back at home with his roommates (our parents) and works in our hometown as a manager of a local liquor store. My family’s dog, Marcus, is almost 13 years old and still has the personality of a puppy.
7. Is there anything else you would like to do in your career?
One of the reasons that I love the field on nutrition is that there is so much you can do! I am interested in pediatric nutrition and hope to find myself working with this population at some point. I can’t say for sure where the field will take me but I plan to enjoy all of the opportunities that come my way!