Wasson in Human Environmental Sciences Named State's Top Dietetics Student

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Laura Wasson, who is from Little Rock, is an honors graduate in human nutrition and hospitality innovation.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the sixth time in seven years, a U of A dietetics student has earned the top dietetic awarded in the state from the Arkansas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Laura Wasson, who graduated this spring from the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science's School of Human Environmental Sciences, was presented the Arkansas AND Outstanding Dietetics Student Award at the state meeting in Little Rock in April.

"I am so proud of Laura," said Mechelle Baily, clinical instructor and director of the didactic program in dietetics. "She completed her honors thesis last year. She presented her abstract at the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in October 2018 in Washington, D.C. She also presented the same abstract at the state AND meeting this week."

Wasson is an honors graduate in human nutrition and hospitality innovation from Little Rock. The award recognizes emerging leaders and high-achieving students in dietetics programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics, and encourages them to participate in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at the local, state and national levels. 

Wasson graduates this spring with a human nutrition and dietetics concentration. Her honors thesis was "Increasing Low-income Residents' Access to Fresh Produce through Local Mobile Pantry." Wasson addressed a need identified by Fayetteville-based hunger relief organization Seeds That Feed, which collects surplus fresh produce from area farmers and distributes it to hunger relief outlets in low-income areas, improving food access and reducing waste. The organization's core challenge is maintaining financial solvency while continuing to improve the efficiency of its operations.

Wasson has already accepted a dietetic internship, which she begins this fall at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She is now eligible to earn the national undergraduate award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Bumpers College's recent winners of the state AND Award are Taylor Martin in 2013, Jessica Bradley in 2014, Christina Crowder 2015, Lauren Ince 2017 and Sara Hanna 2018.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The academy has over 100,000 credentialed practitioners — registered dietitian nutritionists, dietetic technicians, registered and other dietetics professionals holding undergraduate and advanced degrees in nutrition and dietetics, and students — and is committed to improving the nation's health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2.7 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.