Personal Statement

By: Breanna Honohan

It is a question we get asked growing up, “What do you want to be when you’re older?” and will
have a million different answers until we figure it out. My name is Breanna Honohan and I’ve chosen the
path of Human Nutrition and dietetics and a lot has lead me here today. Growing up I wasn’t ever at
desired weight for my age, I was overweight most of my elementary to high school years. I liked to think
then it was genetics but it was also lack of enjoying healthier choices in food. In high school I actually
started working with a dietitian on what to do to help my balance of food choices. I would get to see her
one to two times a week to discuss my progress and about how I felt it was going. She made me love
food and have a healthy relationship with it that was my main problem I saw food as my enemy when I
was overweight. I just struggled with it throughout the end of high school and didn’t see my dietitian
after I felt I had a handle on my problem. I did get a handle on my relationship with food fully after high
school with the right balance of my nutrition and exercise I felt like a whole new person, but I had now
found a passion in my relationship with food.

When I entered college I didn’t know what I would study or what I would find myself doing the
rest of my life. It took me almost 2 years after I did community college to see my passion was in learning
about my nutrition and I really want to help people like that dietitian helped me. I have her to thank for
my relationship with food now and I hope to impact someone the exact way in my own career. This is
what led me to UNCG to want to be a part of their amazing dietetics program. Since I got to work with a
dietitian with my own problems with food I felt this is a big part of my own experience that has lead me
here. I’m thankful that I did choose to seek help from her because now I feel like I’m on my own path to
helping others just like me. Now my long term goal is ultimately to become a registered dietitian but I
also want to have my own practice. In my home town there isn’t much of anyone around to see for
nutrition help so I would love to go back home and open my own practice there. This goal is the main
one I am working towards, it has always been a dream to have my own practice ever since I started this
journey. I still have short term goals that I am working on, one is to learn more about the community in
Greensboro. I know I have hopes of opening a practice back home but I never know I could end up here.
In the volunteering I’ve done with community in Greensboro, I’ve seen what a powerful community it is.
In working on those short term goal I also need to prepare myself to apply to the UNCG DIAS program
coming very soon. This is another goal that will lead me another step to my future.

In having goals there is also strengths and weakness I have in my on field. A strength that I take pride
in is communication. I love being able to talk to people about their nutrition goals or what they are
working on in their own health. I feel this is an important quality to have in this field because you will
always be interacting with someone. Another strength I have is I am very organized, I like to be able to
start each week with knowing what I have due and where I have to be each day. It really helps me be
able to get all my assignments done and be on time anywhere I go. My weakness would be doubting
myself all the time. I put myself down on if I know information or not. This is something I’ve always did
even if I know I know it and have studied it I will still put myself down. It is something I am working to
improve in my final year to be the best in my career. In starting my career I would like to say that UNCG
is where I want to be for my internship year. When I came to UNCG I was lost and felt that I couldn’t
ever say it was home. In my senior year I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else but UNCG. I’ve met
some of the best professors and people to share my major with. I’ve learned more than I believe I ever
could in any other program around. My hope is to be able to finish in the place that already feels like
home to me because I know it is the number one program to be at in North Carolina. I look forward to
what my career holds and all that I will do in the future.