About Laura I grew up in Western Springs, IL, a suburb of Chicago. I attended the University of Illinois and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Community Health and a minor in Communications. I'm an Illini at heart and am proud to be one of four siblings who have graduated with degrees from UIUC.
Currently, I am a marketing professional with nearly nine years of experience. I've held research, media planning and strategy positions with some of the biggest media agencies in Chicago. My experience spans across retail, personal care, household applicances, beauty, and consumer packaged goods. I've consulted on both global and renowned brands including Sears, Kenmore, Sunsilk, Pledge, Windex, Raid, OFF!, Covergirl, Olay, Ziploc and Heinz.
However, I'd like to merge my interest and experience in marketing into Nutrition. My interest in the area started in high school where I ran track and cross country, both intense sports. Nutrition was part of what we learned from our coaches to help elevate performance. In college, my major was Community Health, which involved mostly courses in health finance, policies, and understanding public service, however we were also required to take Human Anatomy, which I found fascinating. I finished my degree, with the desire to continue education in some health and science related coursework. After taking a basic nutrition class at a community college to really gauge my interest, the result was a fascination in the topic and the desire to move towards a degree in Dietetics.
I'll be applying to the Didactic program at Kansas State University to complete the classes needed to begin an internship and sit for my RD exam. I hope to work with people in times of need in either the area of sports nutrition or clinical.
In my spare time, I like to cook, travel, visit friends, run races (last one was Hot Chocolate race in Chicago). I could be called a race enthursiast running five half marathons, one full marathon, and countless 5 and 10K races. I most recently joined Crossfit, which has been a truly great and important experience. Not only is the program a physical challenge, but it involves creating and achieving personal goals, which helps mind, body and soul.