Human Nutrition and Dietetics student gets taste of success

A GCU student has shown she has all the right ingredients to succeed in the world of work after receiving double recognition from her programme.

Fourth year Human Nutrition and Dietetics student Ruby Menzies was announced the winner of two awards at her final year prize giving.

Students and staff came together to pass on the good news to Ruby, who won The Queens College Award for best overall performance and the WOS British Dietetics Association prize for the  best overall placement related performance.

Ruby explained her delight at the recognition and gave a bit more detail about her final year at GCU.

She said: “I’m really happy because all my hard work has definitely paid off. It was nice because we had the prize giving on Microsoft Teams and it was good to catch up with everyone. We’ve all worked so hard and it was just really nice to celebrate together.

It was a busy year with two twelve week placements but I really enjoyed it. I’ve also been volunteering at a foodbank and that allowed me the opportunity to complete my dissertation around food poverty in Scotland – which is something that’s obviously relevant right now with coronavirus.”

Ruby has recently started in her first graduate job as a dietician in Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital. She’s keen to encourage other students to make the most of their time at GCU – especially those that are heading into their fourth year.

She explained: “It’s obviously going to be a really tough year with everything that’s going on but I would say to always be prepared for placements as much as you can and try and do some background reading before you go. It’s also really important to reflect on your experiences.

In terms of dissertation, the best advice I could give would be to pick a topic that you’re interested in and that will motivate you to do it.”

BSc (Hons) Human Nutrition and Dietetics programme leader Marian Cunningham was full of praise for Ruby.

She said: “The team were delighted to see Ruby win the prizes this year. Her academic record reflects her hard work throughout her time and feedback from our Practice Educators highlighted that she was not only very competent during her placements, but she was also willing to help out other students. We wish her every success in her career.”

By Ross Clark
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter