Category Archives: Nutrition

Alumni Assoc. honors CASA students with scholarships

The College of Applied Sciences and Arts was well represented Sept. 16 at the San José State University Alumni Association Scholarship Reception. Of the dozens of honorees who were recognized at the event, seven hail from CASA majors.

CASA Associate Dean Greg Payne attended the celebration and had the honor of introducing the two students selected to receive the Alumni Association Dean’s Scholarship for Applied Sciences and Arts. David Elliott, a

David Elliott received the College of Applied Sciences and Arts Alumni Association Dean's Scholarship for 2014-15.

David Elliott received the College of Applied Sciences and Arts Alumni Association Dean’s Scholarship for 2014-15.

Social Work major, said he hopes to continue his studies in the Master of Social Work program, according to a bio provided by the Alumni Association. He has an upcoming internship with Unity Care, a nonprofit focused on youth and family development, to provide services to foster youth with behavioral and emotional problems. In the past, he has gained crisis intervention and facility management experience, including at Foothill College where he supported students working in the Pass the Torch program.

On the Alumni Association website, he said, “It is an honor and a privilege to be selected to receive the Alumni Association Deans’ Scholarship. Maintaining a balance between school, work and family can be challenging. I can be certain now that I will continue my education by working towards a MSW at SJSU. My wife, Theresa, and I have recently been gifted with a beautiful son, and financially we are working very hard to provide for our family. This scholarship has renewed my excitement about working towards an advanced degree. We are grateful and will continue our personal efforts to serve our community.”

Michelle Mussett received the College of Applied Sciences and Arts Alumni Association Dean's Scholarship for 2014-15.

Michelle Mussett received the College of Applied Sciences and Arts Alumni Association Dean’s Scholarship for 2014-15.

Michelle Mussett, a graduate student in Social Work, also received the Dean’s Scholarship. She has interned with the Record Clearance Project, a program in the Justice Studies department that helps eligible people clear their criminal records, and she also volunteers at the library advising clients in a free weekly program, according to the Alumni Association website. Prior to enrolling in her master’s program at SJSU, Mussett served in the Peace Corps in Benin, in West Africa, where she developed training materials and education programs to address gender and health issues. She is an intern at the CSU Monterey Bay Campus Health Center.

On the Alumni Association website, she said,  “I’m so excited about receiving the Alumni Association Dean’s Scholarship, because it will allow me to concentrate on my passion – my upcoming internship work as a therapist at the California State University, Monterey Bay campus health center. The internship requires a three-day a week commitment, and my full time classes require another two. This scholarship makes it possible for me to pursue my academic and professional goals without having to also take part-time work to cover living expenses. This is crucial at this time in my study, as my final year also includes a year-long thesis project. This scholarship makes it possible for me to put my best work into my final year internship and academics, allowing me to absorb as much as I can from these incredible opportunities.”

Gina Guglielmoni was awarded the Phyllis and Alan Simpkins Leadership Award to pursue a graduate degree in kinesiology so she can start a career helping athletes rehabilitate sports-related injuries with treatments their school or general practitioner do not provide, according to her bio. She volunteered as a trainer’s assistant and manager for the football and softball teams at El Camino High School as well as with groups supporting disabled veterans and at St. Veronica Parish. She noted that she comes from a family of Spartans.

“Being a third generation Spartan means a lot to me and my family as well as receiving the Alan and Phyllis Simpkins Alumni Leadership Award. Six of my family members are alumni of San José State and are part of the large group that makes this scholarship possible. The scholarship will aid in achieving my ultimate dream of obtaining a masters degree in Kinesiology (Athletic Training) and start a career as an Athletic Trainer.”

Three CASA students received the Santa Cruz Area Chapter Scholarships, including Nutritional Science student Anna Sramek, Nursing student Kelly McGuckin and Social work student Nancy Zuniga. Cuong Truong, a nursing major, received the San Jose Woman’s Club Scholarship. For more on these honorees, visit the Alumni Association website at http://www.sjsu.edu/alumni/scholarships/.

Dwight Bentel Hall closed for construction; students to meet in SU ballrooms

Due to ongoing construction, classes scheduled in Dwight Bentel Hall on Monday, Aug. 25 and Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014 have been relocated to the Student Union, Ballrooms A and B. Students can check in with their faculty at tables labeled with their classroom number and instructor. The ballroom in the new student union is upstairs and can be accessed by entering the Student Union through the Seventh Street entrance. Signs will be posted to direct faculty and students to the ballrooms.

Interim Dean Alice Hines has directed faculty to go to the Student Union ballroom at their scheduled class time to meet with their students. Faculty members will be using the first meeting with their classes to:

1.  Have students on roster check in to claim their seat in the class.

2.     Take waitlist names if seats will or may be available

3.     Provide instructions for class reading or other assignments.

4.     Be prepared to send roster messages to students to notify them of any changes or updates.

5.     If using Canvas, make assignments and instructions available there.

Academic Scheduling will be looking for alternative locations for classes to meet after the first two days of instruction. They will notify faculty and students as soon as locations have been assigned.

CASA Dean’s Office staff have posted signs to notify faculty and staff of the relocation of classes to the Ballroom. They will be available at DBH and in the new Ballroom to redirect students and faculty.

Community nutrition class raises money for soup kitchen

San José State University students enrolled in a community nutrition class put their classroom knowledge to the test by planning a fundraiser to benefit a local soup kitchen.

On April 24, more than 100 people attended a fundraiser for Martha’s Kitchen, a community soup kitchen near downtown San Jose, coordinated by students in the College of Applied Sciences and Arts’ Nutrition, Food Science and Packaging department.

Nutrition, Food Science and Packaging students Annie Su, Jovanna Ponco, Anna Dong, Tracey Nguyen and Vi Tran with Martha's Kitchen Executive Director Edita Cruz and their professor, Marjorie Freedman, pose for a photo at the Martha's Kitchen Empty Bowl event.

Nutrition, Food Science and Packaging students Annie Su, Jovanna Ponco, Anna Dong, Tracey Nguyen and Vi Tran with Martha’s Kitchen Executive Director Edita Cruz and their professor, Marjorie Freedman, pose for a photo at the Martha’s Kitchen Empty Bowl event.

The students who are enrolled in Marjorie Freedman’s Community Nutrition class organized the fundraiser, called “Empty Bowls” as part of a service learning requirement for the class. Organizers included Anna Dong, Annie Su, Tracey Nguyen, Jovanna Ponco and Vi Tran. The students raised more than $1,700 for Martha’s Kitchen.

Since 1981, Martha’s Kitchen has had the mission to “feed the hungry with dignity, no questions asked, no judgment made.” The organization has served more than 2.75 million meals since it opened. The SJSU Nutrition students decided to join forces with Edita Cruz, the executive director, to raise money for  the Kitchen’s essential nutrition services.

The students coordinated all aspects of the dinner fundraiser, from soliciting donations for raffle prizes, menu planning, ticket sales and marketing the event. Attendees were entertained by the SJSU Mambo Club, King Library Rockers and the SJSU Polynesian Club. Some of the donations included a signed puck from the San Jose Sharks hockey team and a signed picture from Steve Blake, of the Golden State Warriors basketball team.

The week before the event, the students had raised $900 but only had 10 people signed up to attend the event. They worked with some Nutrition professors to offer attendance at the event as an extra-credit activity or to use the time for a professional meeting. Their last-minute marketing efforts paid off when more than 100 people showed up for the fundraiser.

The students learned how to navigate event planning, solicit donations and learn about marketing while working effectively as a team.

Student Jovanna Ponco said in a press release, “If we had been missing just one team member, the event would not have gone as smoothly and as successfully as it did. As seniors in our last semester of the Dietetics program at San Jose State, we will graduate not only with the skills and experience that we gained through this event, but the bonds of friendship that we strengthened as well.”

The students also thanked Freedman and Cruz for their support in coordinating the fundraiser.

Faculty, student honored for enhancing equity and diversity

Dean Charles Bullock and the Committee to Enhance Equity and Diversity will honor two members of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts for their efforts at San José State University as well as in the community to enhance equity and diversity with the 2014 CEED Award.

Ashwini Wagle speaks at a community event on healthy eating habits.

Ashwini Wagle speaks at a community event on healthy eating habits.

Ashwini Wagle, a professor in nutrition and food science, and Debbie Reese, a student in the School of Library and Information Science, will be honored at a reception April 29.

Each year, the committee requests nominations for faculty, student, student organizations and staff members who are committed to outstanding service to enhance equity and diversity in the committee. From the dozens of submissions the top nominees are selected to receive the CEED Award.

Reese is a student in the Master of Library and Information Science degree program and is a School of Library and Information Science Circle of Learning scholar. COL is a grant-funded partnership with the American Indian Library Association, funded by the Institute of Library and Museum Services. In her time as a student, she has been invited as a guest at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s American Healing for Democracy conference in New Orleans, as well as a presenter at the Pacific Northwest Library Association conference and the International Conference of Indigenous Archives, Libraries and Museums in Tulsa, Okla.

According to her nomination form, she was the recipient of the 2013 Virginia Matthews Scholarship Award for her “sustained involvement in the American Indian community and her sustained commitment to American Indian concerns and initiatives.”

Her award-winning blog, American Indians in Children’s Literature (http://www.americanindiansinchildrensliterature.net/), shined the spotlight on the Arizona law that led to the recent shutdown of the Mexican American Studies Program in the Tucson Unified School District. According to the American Indian Library Association, Reese not only works with the Nambe community and “she strives to inform the dominant culture about issues facing Indian people today.” After graduation, Reese plans to return to Nambe Pueblo to establish a library and archive for the community.

Wagle, who has been a faculty member since 2003, has an interest in how culture can affect food habits. She developed the “South Asian Carbohydrate Counting Tool for South Asians” with some of her graduate students and made the tool available at no charge through her faculty website. According to the colleague who nominated Wagle, the tool is being used in hospitals and diabetic clinics throughout the Bay Area to education South Asians. In addition she also created “SEED: Success and Enhancement through Education and Development” on Kiva.org to provide 30 microloans to minority women.

On campus, Wagle has served as a major adviser to more than 30 graduate student projects and mentored several others, especially minority women in their academic careers. Several of the student projects focused on multicultural/multiethnic enhancement ranging from health and dietary practices of pregnant and lactating South Asian women to infants and toddlers as well as the elderly population.

SJSU to honor 3,500+ at Honors Convocation

On April 25, 2014, more than 3,500 San José State University students will be recognized for high academic performance at the 2014 Honors Convocation. Students who have maintained a 3.65 GPA or higher for two contiguous semesters of the last three semesters will be recognized as Dean’s Scholars while students with a 4.0 GPA will be recognized as President’s Scholars.

In the College of Applied Sciences and Arts, more than 900 students will receive certificates of recognition for their achievement, including students in Health Science and Recreation, Hospitality Management, Journalism and Mass communications, Justice Studies, Kinesiology, Nursing, Nutrition, Food Science and Packaging, Occupational Therapy and Social Work. The keynote speaker at the event this year will be Dr. Winifred Schultz-Krohn, an occupational therapy professor, who received the Outstanding Professor Award this year.

The Provost office collected stories from some of this year’s honorees including three students from the Valley Foundation School of Nursing and the kinesiology department. To read the featured stories from College of Applied Sciences and Arts students, along with others, visit http://www.sjsu.edu/provost/events/honors/featured/index.html.