My Story
Undergraduate at Louisiana State University
Growing up as a competitive dancer, physical activity and nutrition has always been centered in my life even from a young age. It is my calling and in my eyes I had no choice but to follow it. I began college at Louisiana State University where I planned to double major in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. I quickly learned it’s pretty hard to try to do it all, especially when you have all of the distractions of college life, so I ended up focusing on Nutrition. Trying to “do it all” is a recurring theme in my life, but in college I eventually found a rhythm and began working at Pennington Biomedical Center during my undergraduate years. My responsibilities were to facilitate research studies by counseling research participants, meal prepping for studies, and helping the lead dietitian teach group nutrition classes.
Dietetic Internship at University of Houston
I graduated from LSU with honors and completed a dietetic internship at the University of Houston. There I was able to work in a variety of dietetic settings from managing the care of long-term nursing home patients to facilitating employee wellness programs. The experience that was most exciting to me was working with the entrepreneurial dietitians. I even took a course on how to start my own private practice at the start of my career, but I knew I wanted to get a wide variety of experience before settling into a specialty. Working at a hospital in the acute care setting would give me that opportunity to really get some experience with all of the disease states. I worked at Tulane Medical Center Hospital for a decade. During that time, I got married, had two children, and started two side businesses. I’ve always been one to stay busy!
Not to age myself too harshly but when I began my study of nutrition, the Food Pyramid was the “gold standard” and I always believed it was pretty ridiculous. I rarely even discussed it while counseling patients unless they brought it up. There was no way I personally could eat 11 servings of cereal and grains without feeling completely sick. And why are refined grains valued more than fruits and vegetables? The fact that these subsidized grains are fortified and enriched by our country with vitamins and minerals so that they may provide significant nutritional value is a huge red flag. But I continued on and focused on learning the science and chemistry of nutrition which was an area I always excelled at in school.
Experience in Acute and Outpatient Care
After passing my boards and getting officially licensed, I was bright-eyed and bushy tailed for a couple years. I wanted so deeply to help patients. I would get some wins here and there; nothing feels better than hugging a patient during discharge who escaped death’s door. But then the patient would be back in a few months down the road even sicker than before. Or I would get the really heartbreaking cases, like the young mother with babies at home who seemingly was “healthy” and followed all of the nation’s “health guidelines.” She was even a marathon runner. I cared for her for months. We even got special permission to get a treadmill in her room so she can stay active on her good days. I watched helplessly as she died of cancer. The subpar processed foods that comprised her diet during her hospital stay (so that the food department can save money) certainly did not help her fight leukemia.
That’s when I started paying attention and asking questions. Why were Coca Cola and General Mills active “sponsors” to our dietetic professional organization? Why are they pushing us to promote ultra-processed foods that we know from a biochemical level are not good for our bodies? I canceled my professional membership and was completely fed up. Why are the patients not getting better? I felt deflated and hopeless as I entered a phase of complete burnout with nutrition. At this point, I had recently had my second child and I needed to take a step back and gain some perspective. I focused on my most successful side business of photography and made it my full time gig for the last 8 years.
Since leaving the hospital, I have continued my education and research within the nutrition and health field while raising a family. I currently own and run a successful photography business that I adore with my sister. I often call the photography business my third baby. But as some of you might know, when God calls in life it’s hard to ignore. So here I am, creating this health website to channel my passion for promoting health. If my seasoned perspective and voice can be helpful to at least one reader who wants the best health for themselves and their family, then my effort is worth it.
Contact Kasey
For questions, partnerships, writing, or media requests, send a note to [email protected].
I will only work with brands that align with my values and contribute to root-cause health.
