My name is Caroline Goehring, I am a senior at the University of Arkansas majoring in Kinesiology. In the Spring of 2021, I will be graduating with my fellow students in the College of Education and Health Professions. After graduation, I will be taking a year off to gain more experiences that will hopefully help me determine what will be my next step towards achieving the career I am meant to pursue. Once that year has come to an end, I am hoping my experiences will either lead me to deciding between gaining a master’s degree or applying to a pre-professional school. Throughout the research process, I was mentored by Dr. Kaitlin Gallagher who is currently within the department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation.

My research during this past semester focused on analyzing the nutritional survey data collected from the sample of freshman engineering students in the Fall of 2019 through the Exercise is Medicine program on campus. Not only were the students who participated asked questions regarding their dietary habits, but the survey also included questions regarding sleeping habits, exercise, and mental health. The goal after analyzing the nutritional data from this survey was to observe the influence on each student’s academic performance. During this upcoming Spring semester, I will use this information to propose a creative, beneficial, and informative intervention towards the freshman engineering community to become more aware of how a positive diet can not affect one’s lifestyle, but their academic performance as well.

I became interested in the nutritional side of this research process because I am also minoring in Nutrition and potentially see it as a career option in the future. I met my mentor, Dr. Kaitlin Gallagher, during my sophomore year as she was my professor for the course of Honors Research Methods. The curriculum of the course prepared each student to complete their Honors Thesis, and during this course is when Dr. Gallagher agreed to be my mentor for my thesis for the upcoming semesters. Dr. Gallagher suggested for me to join the nutritional side of this Exercise is Medicine research during the Fall semester of 2019, and I was immediately on board to participate with the Exercise is Medicine team. Dr. Erin Howie Hickey was the head faculty member leading the Exercise is Medicine team.

Due to COVID-19, this past semester was difficult to meet in-person and engage in the research process. Therefore, it was a challenge to adjust what research could be accomplished during this past semester. However, I was able to use this time to read further into my literature review, and gain knowledge from published scientific articles who have tried to implement similar interventions at other universities. I also dove into what the University of Arkansas is doing already to improve the dietary habits of their students. This information has been leading me to ideas towards my final step of producing a beneficial intervention that will potentially be implemented here at the University of Arkansas. Next semester, I will be finalizing a productive program and hopefully receive positive feedback when I defend my thesis in April!