Tiersly Wanka
Nutritional Sciences
Wanka: switch to dietetics major 'one of the best decisions' she ever made
- Hometown
Douglasville, Ga.
- Major
Dietetics
- Activities/Honors
- Zell Miller Scholarship Recipient (2019 – 2023)
- Auxiliary Services Student Ambassador (Summer 2023 – Present)
- Student Dietetic Association Treasurer (Fall 2022 – Spring 2023)
- African Student Union Assistant Dance Coordinator (Fall 2020 – Spring 2022)
- Why I chose my major
Coming to UGA, I wanted to help others by joining the medical field as a doctor. To do so, I majored in nutritional sciences on the pre-med track. During my Junior year, I took a course in Optimal Nutrition for the Life Span with Dr. Alex Kojo Anderson, and it was an excellent class. Learning how food impacted the human body throughout an entire life span was magnificent—and having a teacher as passionate as Dr. Anderson made the class that much better. During that same time, I was also taking Organic Chemistry 2 for my Pre-Med coursework, and I absolutely hated the class! After much deliberation, I realized that medicine was no longer for me and that I could still help others, just in a different way, through nutrition. I switched to dietetics in the fall of my Junior year. And in my four years at UGA, that switch was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Since joining UGA’s didactic program in dietetics, I have made beautiful connections with excellent teachers and fellow students.
- What I like most about FACS
I love how much FACS loves and cares about its students. I have yet to meet a teacher in FACS who wasn’t passionate about what they taught, in addition to going above and beyond to help their students. There is genuinely no other college like FACS.
- Post-graduation plans
After graduation, I plan to begin applications for various coordinated programs in Georgia to obtain my master’s in nutrition and complete my dietetics internship before sitting for the Registered Dietitian exam. But in the meantime, I plan to put my bachelor’s degree to good use and work as a nutrition assistant.
