Born and raised in Tartous, Syria, I went to college in Homs, Syria for 4 years and then moved to the USA to escape the bloodshed in my country, arriving in December of 2013 and beginning my master's degree program in Nutrition and Food Science at ____ University in ____, Louisiana the following year, 2014. Now twenty-nine, I have been interested in nutrition since my adolescence, reading mostly in this area during my free time for many years. I hope very much to be selected to study for the Ph.D. Degree in Nutrition and Food Science at ____ University. ____ is my first choice among Ph.D. programs because of its excellence and the fact that the ____ area is where I have the best social support base, family, and friends, which will help me to excel in your program.
Over the past several years, I have realized that my health, soul, and happiness are all bound up with my increasing fascination and passion for food. From the formative years of college to this hour and this day, there is not one moment where I don’t find myself eating and living with the utmost vigilance. When I learned how food embodied every aspect of my life, I quickly turned to the extensive literature on traditional and contemporary human diets.
Growing up in a war zone in the Middle East made me realize that each of us, as human beings, has a powerful potential to change the world and find peace in our own way. For me, I have found peace in practicing healthy food habits. My passion led me to become part of the first graduating class in the newly established Nutrition Science major at Al-Baath University in the city of Homs, Syria. Wanting to utilize my skills to help refugees, I began volunteering for the Red Cross and spent six months preparing food for Syria's homeless and poverty-stricken. It was there that I gained a special interest in Nutrition through my constant exposure not only to malnutrition but also starvation. Health, nutrition, and well-being shaped the identity and purpose of my young adult life, in preparation for a career in dietetics. I have completed my dietetic internship at ____ State University, learning to adroitly organize my time for work as well as study.
Now serving as a clinical dietitian at ____ hospital, I could not be happier working one-on-one with patients, helping them to find and stay on a path to incremental healing and understanding. As a result of my professional experience, I have found my voice as a dietitian. With its comprehensive approach to health and wellness, I am certain that your institution offers an ideal and comprehensive program in nutrition which complements the experiences that have nurtured my lifelong passion for food and community.
The fundamental change that I long to see is the general restructuring of our relationship with food. For my part, I long to become intensely involved with innovative research, reaching out to colleagues and mentors, and interviewing practicing researchers. Earning my Ph.D. in Nutrition and Food Science will give me a chance to make the most of my clinical skills, scientific knowledge, and passion for research, as well as my enjoyment of helping people to live healthier and happier lives.
Acquiring my MS Degree at ____ University was not easy; at first, I suffered cultural shock and faced linguistic challenges. I was humbled by XXXX University’s recognition of my achievement during my dietetics internship, honoring me as the Outstanding Student of my class in 2017.
I have been reading about your especially distinguished Nutrition and Food Science Department at ____ University almost since I arrived in the USA and I have looked to your program as a role model and source of inspiration throughout my undergraduate and graduate education so far; thus, it would be a very special privilege and honor for me to be selected.
I look forward to contributing to the diversity of your program as a Middle Eastern woman from a country at war and a population with great and sometimes novel nutritional needs, since people in wide swaths of the country are able to find, buy, or grow only enough food to stay alive, while others, especially children, often die of malnutrition. As an independent thinker, I thrive on teamwork, attention to detail, creativity, and perseverance. I look forward to working alongside and learning from dedicated educators and experienced scientists working on groundbreaking research and collaborating with scientists internationally as well as nationally. This will enable and inspire me to contribute all that I can to scientific and medical advancements, thinking and acting globally, helping to safeguard the nutritional needs of some of the w most vulnerable peoples, increasing numbers of whom live in the Middle East and speak my native language, Arabic.
I am extremely excited about and committed to continuing the growth and development of my career in dietetics. Earning the Ph.D. and becoming a professor devoted as much to research as I am teaching, I look forward to a lifetime of nutrition counseling in the community, especially geared toward the prevention and treatment of disease. I look forward to becoming an expert in metabolic and satiety hormone responses to different nutrients and/or exercise and how improved human nutrition helps to prevent and successfully manage chronic diseases, especially obesity and diabetes.
Thank you for considering my application for the Ph.D. Program in Nutrition and Food Science at XXXX University.
PHD Nutrition and Food Science Statement