The great thing about choosing a major in college is that the major can be tailored to one’s interests. Lindsay Putzbach, ’10, turned her interests in cooking, health, and fitness into a bachelor’s degree in dietetics from Buffalo State.

Putzbach recently began her first job as a dietitian for Trinity Medical WNY, where she is providing pediatric nutrition counseling and obesity prevention strategies. She will start classes in the fall at the University at Buffalo, working toward her master’s degree in public health with a focus on community health and health behavior.

“For me, dietetics is the perfect combination of my love of food and fitness, and my desire to help people and make a difference in their lives,” said Putzbach.

Putzbach was a member of the Rotaract Club at Buffalo State and Phi Upsilon Omicron Honor Society. She received the Outstanding Dietetics Student Award from the New York State Dietetic Association, Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities Award, Alma Roudebush Scholarship, Katherine Staebell Scholarship, Buffalo State College Presidential Scholarship, Buffalo State College All-College Honors Scholarship, and was named to the Buffalo State College Dean’s List. Putzbach was also chosen to participate in a nutrition program in Peru through Iowa State University, where she spent four weeks learning about nutrition issues facing the Peruvian people.

Putzbach’s advice for future or current dietetics majors is to “get involved and get experience, anywhere and everywhere you can. Take advantage of local organizations and networking opportunities, and volunteer in the field.”

Because of Buffalo State, Putzbach says she was able to experience many different areas of the nutrition field, which gave her a better idea of where she wanted to go after Buffalo State. This background experience also gave her confidence that she would be successful no matter what area she works in.

The dietetics program at Buffalo State is the only one of its kind in the SUNY system and is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) of the American Dietetic Association. The program combines theoretical learning with supervised practice, which provides students with the requirements established by CADE for entry-level dietitians.

Putzbach was originally interviewed by Lindsey Bonasera for the Dietetics and Nutrition Department newsletter “Nutrition Provision.” Read the full interview here.