Student Profile: Mary Hayes

Q: Tell us about your journey that led you to become a dietetic intern here at UMass.

I came to UMass in 2018 and started as a biology major, but I was always interested in nutrition. After my first semester, I realized biology wasn’t for me and so I switched and became a nutrition major. I enjoyed it a lot more! I applied for the 4+1 program my senior year, and I got into it. I was so happy! That was a really fun experience to have; I got to take different classes like epidemiology and get involved in more research.

Before I knew it, it was time to apply for my internship. I always wanted to be a dietitian. I applied for several different internships. I decided on the UMass one because of the different rotations. Many other internships are clinically focused, which is important to me, but I wanted a variety of experiences, and UMass gave me that. It's been really interesting so far.

Q: What is your day like as a dietetic intern?

It’s all different. It depends on which rotation you are in. I started with my food service rotation. I worked at Northampton Public Schools. I worked with one of the cooks to create a new recipe for the school lunch menu. We did a taste test for the students, and they all loved it. That was awesome; it was the rotation highlight.

After that, I started my community rotation, which brought on a totally different experience. I worked with a group in Springfield, and I would create a nutrition curriculum and then sit down with the group for nutrition education. I would bring a dish and recipe handouts that used skills and foods from the lesson plan for everyone to try. I also worked with a program for irritable bowel disease in Puerto Rican adults. I created content for their social media.

I also worked with registered dietitian Jen Belanger of Jen Belanger and Associates. She specializes in pediatric nutrition and eating disorders. I am interested in working with eating disorders, so working with her during my rotation was awesome and insightful. Not only did I work with her, but I also did similar work with Happy Valley Nutrition. The organization is an educational outpatient clinic specializing in nutrition and intuitive eating.

Right now, I'm at Baystate Medical Center in my clinical rotation.

Q: What would you say to a student considering the nutrition program here at UMass?

The faculty care about you. If you have a specific area of interest, clinic, or program that you want to work in the internship's director, Christy Maxwell, will try to connect you with that program or that person. I talked to Christy about the areas I’m interested in working in and she connected me with the people who run those programs. You can choose where you do some of your rotations which makes UMass’s dietic internship so unique.

Q: What do you plan to do after finishing your internship?

I’m going to apply for jobs. I want to work with eating disorders. I'm applying for jobs in the Boston area like Walden Behavioral Care and the Monte Nido Eating Disorder Center of Boston.