September 16, 2005
Students from Ireland focus on foods and nutrition at Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Four students from Ireland are studying in Purdue's Department of Foods and Nutrition this semester to help them complete their research requirements for a degree in dietetics from the Dublin Institute of Technology.
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"This is the first time our department has been able to participate in an exchange program like this so we can't pass up the opportunity to bend over backward," said Carol Boushey, associate professor and official host to the students. "It's our goal to make sure our students get international experience. With exposure to students as they visit here and the chance to take courses overseas, the benefit goes both ways."
The students are here as part of an agreement with the Dublin Institute of Technology through the College of Consumer and Family Sciences and the College of Technology. They are staying at the homes of foods and nutrition faculty and staff.
Two of the students, Anne Marie Campbell and Claire Reilly, are studying television viewing, food patterns and body sizes of sixth-graders. By studying at Purdue, they said they have a chance to be part of a bigger nationwide project than they would in Ireland. Studying abroad has still presented challenges, they said.
"It is definitely hard to adjust to the different system at first," Reilly said. "The library, the size of the campus, getting around – these can be very daunting. But there are so many opportunities to meet people that making new friends is inevitable."
The other two students, Sarah Browne and Holly Guiden, are conducting lab research to analyze the effects of calcium from different diets or supplements.
"We hope to be able to use the results in our final thesis, which we'll write when we return," Guiden said. "The lab experience here is similar to what we would be able to get in Ireland, but Purdue has a far greater selection of equipment."
All of the students are considering the possibility of continuing their education after graduation, though working in the community as a dietitian is also a possibility. While in the United States, they have already had a chance to visit Chicago, and they have plans to see more of the country before they return to Dublin in December. They said they have found life here to be very different from Ireland, especially with respect to portion sizes during meal times.
"What one person gets for a meal here would feed a family in Ireland," Browne said.
Writer: Maggie Morris, (765)494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu
Source: Carol Boushey, (765) 496-6569, boushey@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: Journalists are invited to attend sessions at local schools when measurements will be taken of students who will participate in these experiments. The students also may be available for interviews. Contact Maggie Morris, Purdue News Service, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu to coordinate.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Holly Guiden (right) and Sarah Browne, graduate students from the Dublin Institute of Technology in Ireland who are at Purdue University for the semester, conduct weighing experiments in a lab in the Department of Foods and Nutrition. (Purdue News Service photo/David Umberger)
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