Willow Purvis is from Denver, Colorado. She is a senior working toward obtaining her bachelor’s in food science and human nutrition.  

Purvis has been involved in Dr. Sarah Johnson’s Functional Foods and Human Health lab, researching wild blueberries and their effect on endothelial dysfunction in post-menopausal women with high blood pressure. She is working towards becoming a registered dietitian and is interested in a program with a focus on medical nutrition therapy. She is applying to Baylor University’s military nutrition graduate program and hopes to start this fall. This program would allow Purvis to complete her dietetic internship and graduate degree simultaneously, followed by four years of active duty in the army as a registered dietitian. Specifically, she has an interest in clinical nutrition. 

“The KRNC provides a unique opportunity to work with real dieticians,” said Purvis. “I have especially valued the time spent shadowing counseling sessions. Shadowing the dieticians and their wide variety of clients is a great way to connect information learned in class with real people. I have also enjoyed the experience of the cooking classes! It is quite fun working alongside your classmates leading a cooking class for participants and having to familiarize yourself with the recipe components. The KRNC provides a wide range of valuable experiences.” 

The Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center is a part of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition in CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.