Title

2019 Honors Portfolio

Authors

Sarini Hewage, Fontbonne University

Advisor

Matthew Nelson

Files

Introduction

Sincerely, Sarini

And just like that, in two-in-a-half-years, I’ve completed my Dietetics degree. What happened? What could have happened in such a short time? When I sat back to think about these questions, I almost wanted to say nothing except the completion of another degree. Upon reflection, a word I’ve realized that I used more often in my time Fontbonne than in any other period of my life, I grew as a person, student, and future-professional.

Going back to school was a step towards correcting my broken life. I say broken because prior to coming to Fontbonne, I had completed a four-year biology degree and realized at the end, my heart was not in it. I then reluctantly took a job as a lab technician which only ended up numbing whatever leftover passion and drive I had left. After many arguments about future financial stability, happiness, and a sense of self-worth with my parents, I decided to attend Font bonne University to study dietetics. The TELOS Honors program was another step that helped me to transform, serve, advocate, explore, and lead, not only academically, but also professionally. The art of reflection, and it truly is an art, is one I have yet to perfect, but have made profound steps throughout my involvement with both TELOS and dietetics. A small testament to this statement would be this portfolio which takes a momentary glimpse of my faults, strengths, recollections and interpretations of important educational experiences. You may realize dietetics being threaded throughout each piece, some more apparent than others. This outcome was not my intention but more so a realization of how meaningful my future profession is to me.

A typical four year college existence is extremely fast-paced as is, and I was asking for it to be sped up even further with my accelerated graduation deadline. I had carved out a path for myself and was ready to continually take steps towards my ultimate goal of being a dietitian. When looking back at the knowledge I’ve accrued in and outside of the classroom, these ten artifacts are a culmination of learning opportunities that have personally transcended time. I can vividly recall my frustration on why dietitians were not consulted for a documentary about nutrition, how reading about the 2004 tsunami triggered the reopening of a wound, or how learning to face my fears by educating teenage boys about mental health was alarming yet essential. When asked with the question of ‘why these moments?’ I was not sure at first. I was a ball of emotions, but I never took the time to understand why I felt this way. So, I set aside time to really think and reflect on each experience that struck a chord. Throughout this written exercise, I dissected my learning experiences and the emotions attached to them, to better understand them. I have revised, rethought, and reexamined, my growth throughout each artifact and reflection. It is with great pleasure that I received this chance to share this work which has summarized my efforts as a Fontbonne student and TELOS Scholar.

Department

Family and Consumer Sciences

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (BS)

Degree Program

Dietetics

Document Type

Portfolio

Publication Date

Spring 2019

Publisher

Fontbonne University Archives

City

St. Louis, MO

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.