Kaley Birge is originally from Nashville, Tennessee and grew up in Tucson, Arizona. She is a senior at Colorado State University and completing her degrees in Nutrition/Food Science and Spanish Language in the fall. Currently, she is working on her undergraduate thesis with EFNEP in CSU Extension, expanding the Eating Smart ∙ Being Active curriculum resources for English and Spanish adult-learners.

Birge is passionate about reducing nutrition-related socioeconomic health disparities, particularly in Spanish-speaking communities. She aims to create and improve resources and programs for preventative healthcare in underprivileged communities. She is interning for The Growing Project by providing free organic produce and plants to the local Food Bank. Birge is also a Food Pantry volunteer for the Poudre Valley Hospital.

Once she has completed her undergraduate degree, Birge plans to complete a Dietetic Internship so that she can become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). After becoming a dietitian, she intends to complete a Master’s Degree in Public Health (MPH). “In the future, I want to obtain an MPH in epidemiology to further research nutrition-related health disparities between populations in the United States. My career goal is to work at reducing these disparities and create equal opportunities for a healthy life.”

Birge states, “I enjoy working in the KRNC because it gives me an opportunity to apply what I’ve learned from my undergraduate curriculum first-hand—something I haven’t had much chance to do in my regular courses. I love talking and teaching about nutrition to a variety of people. It also has shown me what my future career might look like as a dietitian, which excites me.”

For more information:

See the KRNC website or the College of Health & Human Sciences website. Don’t forget to sign up for the KRNC monthly newsletter!