Roehampton student nominated for Complete Nutrition's Student of the Year 2018 Award
- Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Maria O'Keeffe has recently completed a BSc in Nutrition and Health and has been nominated for Student of the Year award in the 2018 Complete Nutrition (CN) Awards. The awards recognise achievements within the nutrition industry.
Maria was nominated by Dr Sue Reeves, a Principal Lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences, for her enthusiastic and diligent approach both to her studies and to extracurricular activities. This included working with Growhampton, the Roehampton Students' Union's sustainable food growing initiative run by students, staff and the local community; teaching over 200 hours of fitness classes at one of Roehampton's sports societies; and for her work as a Student Programme Rep.
Maria’s experience with Growhampton inspired her research into methods for growing food that is both nutritious and environmentally friendly. She has focused on food science and lab work, comparing various methods of cultivating soil-grown crops, including comparing organic and inorganic approaches.
Discussing her time at Roehampton, Maria said, “As an international student, it was vital I could find the information about the course online. Roehampton has such a beautiful campus and many different societies and activities to get involved in, such as Growhampton. In my studies, I enjoyed the Food Science and Clinical Nutrition modules the most. I loved working in a variety of labs including the food lab, sports lab and biomedical labs, and learning about career options within the nutrition field.”
Maria's advice to future nutrition students is, “In your first year, subjects such as chemistry or statistics or maths may seem overwhelming but it all comes together during your degree. The classes are small and it’s easy to ask questions. Make sure you take advantage of one-on-one time with lecturers and tutors in office hours.”
After graduation, Maria will take a nutrition and sustainability with an MSc in Norway.
You can read more information about the CN Awards here. Voting will be open until 23 July 2018.
The Department of Life Sciences offers an outstanding BSc Nutrition and Health degree which is accredited by the Association for Nutrition. We are ranked 6th in London for Nutrition and Health (Complete University Guide 2018).