Name: Erin Groh                    

Title of Program: Examining the role of wellness techniques in chronic disease prevention with an emphasis in providing healthcare to Hispanic populations

E-mail Address: egroh@utk.edu        

Hometown: Knoxville, TN

Year: Sophomore

Anticipated Graduation Date: December 2011

Description of Program: Combine Nutrition and Hispanic culture in preparation for a career in Preventive Medicine and Public Health

Departmental Emphases: Nutrition and Spanish with supplementary coursework in Psychology, Exercise Science and Public Health

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Millie Gimmel, Dept of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures

Plans after graduation (career, graduate/professional school, etc.): After graduation, I hope to either spend two years working with Teach for America or to teach English in a foreign country. I then plan to attend medical school and pursue a career in Preventive medicine and Public Health.

Prior Enrollment at Other Colleges or Universities: n/a

Study Abroad: I plan to spend spring semester of my junior year abroad in Costa Rica or Mexico learning about Hispanic culture and volunteering in a health clinic.

Part-time employment; Hobbies; Campus Clubs/Activities:

Pharmacy tech at Target, Travelling, Reading, especially current literature on mind-body health, Cooking, Physical fitness, Volunteering with the National Kidney Foundation, Clinic Vols at South Knoxville Elementary, Alpha Epsilon Delta, American Medical Students Association.

Additional Information: I’m passionate about combatting the obesity epidemic in our country because people’s poor diets and sedentary lifestyles are largely responsible for high chronic disease rates. Through my program I hope to gain insight into Hispanic cultural practices and atttitudes as Hispanic-Americans are the minority group who suffers most from high rates of chronic disease.