Health Services: Nutritionist
Health Services
Nutritionist: Mia Inoshita
By Mike Yoshiura
Mia Inoshita is a dietician by trade, but her job duties at Meadow Gold Dairies aren’t as clear-cut as comparing apples to oranges.
“Over the years, my position here at Meadow Gold has expanded to include not only the research and product development, but also to assist with marketing initiatives and sales. Meadow Gold is a notorious supporter of health and nutrition education, and disseminating this type of information to the community. I’ve been able to use my nutrition knowledge to write nutrition related editorials in magazines and newspapers. I’ve also been fortunate enough to assist in Meadow Gold’s community-related programs and events that promote health awareness and physical activity. It’s been rewarding for me, as well as a great experience to learn more about business, marketing and event planning.”
Education & Training
After graduating from Hawai‘i Mission Academy in 1997, Mia went on to attend the University of Hawai‘i at Ma - noa (UH). She describes herself as being “uninspired” at the time, managing to go without declaring a major for her first three years of college.
“I was finally told that I had to declare a major or else I wouldn’t be allowed to register at the start of my fourth year. I went around gathering information from the different colleges to see what was out there. I also did some serious reflecting on what my passions were, what I wanted to study and what I could go on to do for a living,” said the 28 year old. “I found out that UH had a Food Science and Human Nutrition program in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR). The program offered a dietetic course of study and I went for it. I interviewed to get into the program with my future-mentor-to-be, and I started down the path to becoming a dietician.”
Internships & Requirments
Mia graduated from UH with a Food Science and Human Nutrition degree in 2003. To become a full-fledged registered dietician graduates must apply for a dietetic internship at an accredited facility. Interns are required to put in 900 hours of supervised practice, which can take anywhere from six to 24 months to complete. After the internship they are eligible to register for the examination for dieticians. The examination is facilitated by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education, which is the American Dietetics Association’s accrediting agency for educational programs.
Registered dieticians need to maintain their status by continuing their professional education. This ensures that they retain and improve their knowledge and skills, keeping them up to date with the always-evolving science of the nutrition field.
Mentors & Inspirations
A mentor is someone that shares experience, knowledge and wisdom about a particular occupation. Professor Wayne Iwaoka recognized Mia’s interests and introduced her to opportunities in the form of extra curricular activities, scholarships and internships. He inspired her to go above and beyond, and to this day Mia credits her success to him.
“In class, he constantly challenged my peers and I to learn how to learn. He reminded us not to just memorize or digest knowledge and content, but to develop and refine real life skill sets such as critical thinking, problem solving and interpersonal skills. He used to stress that information could always be looked up, and there was no way you could possibly remember all the nitty gritty details of science. What was more important was to develop the skills to figure out the best resources to turn to and to do so efficiently. He has definitely influenced my life for the better, not only back then when I was a student but still to this day. My overall goal in life stems from the way he impacted my life. It is to make a meaningful impact on other people in a positive manner.”
Things To Keep In Mind
A dietician pays close attention to the food markets, restaurants and other food-related industries to see what people are actually eating and buying. One of her favorite things to do includes watching and talking to people as they shop. By watching people’s habits she learns about their behavior and what influences their purchases. Do they look at the price? Do they turn products over and look at the nutrition label? What makes them choose one product over another? Studying people and understanding their behaviors provide great insight that helps guide Mia as she develops new and improved products for Meadow Gold Dairies.