Students in our Certificate Programs come from a variety of backgrounds, but are all interested in learning more about the intricate impacts food and nutrition make on every part of life.
Student Perspectives: Online Graduate Certificate Programs
The individual courses in the Online Graduate Certificate Programs are designed to meet the needs of working professionals and others interested in expanding their knowledge, enhancing their skill set, or improving their marketability in order to advance in their career.
We spoke with several former certificate program students about their experiences and takeaways. Read on to find out more about how our innovative online courses and programs have helped advance careers.
Marcus Jackson
When I was 25, I became a police officer, and a few years after that I became one of the department’s fitness coordinators. We had a little bit of guidance on nutrition, but I didn't have the background information to actually give substantial help to our officers. When I came across Tufts Certificate Programs, I thought – with my busy schedule, my job and my family – that I could manage the workload. I also found out that my agency had a tuition assistance program, so that made it easier to complete the certificate.
I liked that I could listen to lectures while I was driving and access the material from anywhere.
It was meaningful to be able to interact with students -- not in a classroom, but all over the world. The instructors also understand that the certificate isn’t the only thing going on in our lives, and if I had an issue, they were very understanding and flexible.
Once I completed the first class, I put together a basic presentation on how to plan a healthy diet for our officers. I ordered some basic pamphlets, passed them out, and offered to talk to them just to give them the basics. Some people volunteered for that, and then I made it a mandatory part of our new recruit program. Everyone that comes in now gets some sort of nutritional guidance. Our fitness test is now mandatory as well and people are passing it at a higher rate. And now that I’ve completed the program, I’ve started an LLC to do nutrition coaching.
COVID-19 has kind of exposed the health care system, the lack of nutritional knowledge in society. This virus is affecting everyone, but it's especially affecting people who aren't already healthy – the underdeveloped communities that don't really get that background on how to eat. Eventually, when I have some time, I want to give back by teaching people who wouldn't be able to receive this information and get them on a path of healthy living.
Ian Lopez
A love of learning inspired me to pursue a Tufts education after 12 years of business & brand management experience with two Fortune 500 corporations: Colgate Palmolive and Tyson Foods. As I was deciding to begin the certificate program, my work was focused on discovering disruptive food solutions and I wanted to be better informed about areas that were critical to the future of food. Nutrition and sustainability are personal passion points of mine, particularly in the innovation space, and helped fuel my work on consumer solutions that merged convenience and nutrition.
I'm really glad I decided to join the program. The three courses that I took were Principles of Nutrition Science (NUTC 200), Nutrition-Related Consumer Marketing (NUTC 205), and Sustainability and the Food Consumer (NUTC 263).
I customized my certificate program around topics that interested me and would allow me to immediately apply what I learned in both my personal life and my professional career.
I enjoyed the flexibility of live and recorded online learning, especially after having earned my Master's degree from Indiana University in a similar system.
My last day with Tyson was March 7, 2020 -- and then the following week, the world shut down. Rather than see this moment as a challenge, I believed there were multiple ways to create change and I started with two projects in mind. One was a consulting business where I was able to work with small businesses, both local and national, on projects that were more nutrition- and sustainability-centered. I’m able to apply my expertise in product commercialization and innovation through a lens that matters to me and to these businesses.
My second project was to build a brand focused on improving our relationships with food. I knew microgreens were nutrient-dense & fast-growing in popularity, so I decided to use them as an introduction to growing your own food. I built this brand from the ground up and so far it’s received really strong engagement. The business is still very much in its infancy, but the Tufts program allowed me to feel comfortable with building a brand that could speak to consumers who are interested in the idea of growing their food and of taking care of yourself through food.
In my next phase of lifelong learning, I'm training to become a Tai Chi instructor and completing a Functional Medicine Health Coach certification. I have a lot of irons in the fire, but in every challenging moment, you can always find individuals seeking balance. That’s what I’m focusing on – helping others find balance in a positive way.
Nichele Salazar
I'm a certified nurse-midwife and have been practicing for six years. I applied to the certificate program to be able to provide better nutritional support for patients because we are seeing -- especially with COVID -- more issues around excessive weight gain and pregnancy. I work at a low-risk clinic where we cannot keep patients with hypertensive issues in pregnancy, or those who take medications to control gestational diabetes; therefore, our goal is to prevent these conditions to keep our patients within our practice.
When I was looking at different programs, the number one thing that stood out about Tufts was the course on pregnancy and lactation -- that's my main focus. Once I started, the entire program was a phenomenal experience, and I gained in-depth information I could share with my non-pregnant clients also. Even though it was all online, the instructors were always available and supportive; they wanted you to get as much as possible from the program. I also had classmates in different areas of the US who had similar issues around access to nutritious foods. We were able to do a little bit of brainstorming together in our forums and discussion sessions. We shared our experiences and the best thing was that we all had different backgrounds in health care, so it was a teamwork approach.
I appreciated the respect everyone in the program had for diverse populations and the support that was offered to face challenges among underserved populations.
Principles of Nutrition Science (NUTR 202) needs to be taught in all the advanced practicing nurses' curricula to enable us to better serve our patients by incorporating some nutrition into their care. Growing up on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, I can understand the barriers patients face regarding nutrition. The education I received is helping me address these barriers, and I feel supported knowing I can always reach out to my instructors in the future as needed. So far, my patients have been receptive to the improved, appropriate nutrition education that I've learned from this certificate program.
Sari Lazarnick
At first, my focus on fitness and nutrition was mostly for myself, but as a radio personality, I wanted to turn that interest towards helping other people. I had majored in journalism at the University of Georgia, so I applied for the Nutrition Science for Communications Professionals track in the Tufts Online Graduate Certificate Programs.
I liked the fact that the program was taught by Tufts professors – the Tufts name and reputation is legitimate, and I knew it would be worth the time to be taught by highly-credentialed professors.
Having graduated from college in 2000, I was worried at first about how I was going to handle getting an education in a completely different environment, but it was much easier and more manageable than I thought it would be. It was my first experience in a virtual setting and the flexibility was really nice, but I liked the fact that there were still deadlines. The professors do a very nice job of expanding upon the reading assignments in their lectures. You also get a chance to have conversations with your classmates versus only communicating through message boards, and there was nice give-and-take in those talks.
The course Foundations of Nutrition Science was very useful and informative, but the course I enjoyed the most was Current Controversies in Nutrition. I thought it was the most interesting and the most applicable, tackling topics like organic versus non-organic food.
Carrying on from my experiences with the Tufts Online Graduate Certificate Programs, I’ve decided to go down the path of fitness, nutrition, and personal training. People are going to keep wanting virtual fitness after this crisis is over!