Texas Tech University

Amber Odom Alumni Profile

Amber Odom Texas Tech Alumni Profile Nutritional SciencesBefore Nutritional Sciences (NS) alumna Amber Odom, RDN, LD began her career as a Registered Dietitian, she received her bachelor's degree in Food and Nutrition from Texas Tech University in 1997. Two years later, she completed a second bachelor's degree in clinical dietetics at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

In 2002, Amber received the Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year (RYDY) Award by the Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

"I was so excited, as this was such an honor since each state only awards two recipients to be recognized for the competencies and activities of younger dietitians in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics."

Amber is currently working as a Registered Dietitian at Village Health Partners- Independence Medical Village. Specifically, she serves as the Lead Registered Dietitian for the Independence and McKinney primary care physician offices at Village Health Partners.

"I provide medical nutrition therapy and nutrition counseling, one-on-one and via telehealth, for a variety of health conditions within Village Health Partners and I teach group classes related to health, wellness, and weight management," Amber said.

Amber also serves as the primary dietitian for a bariatric surgery center and digestive health center located within Independence Medical Village. In between counseling patients, she creates patient education material, writes articles, and creates recipes for their blog.

Amber says her passion and specialty resides within weight management and preventative and cardiovascular nutrition.

"I encourage and teach my patients to make small changes toward a healthier lifestyle and it is so rewarding to me to see that over time, those changes add up to big results. Especially when patients are then able to improve labs and decrease or discontinue medications by living a healthy lifestyle."

Amber's love for food and fitness brought her to the College of Human Sciences' (COHS) Nutritional Sciences department at Texas Tech.

While she was deciding what major to declare, Amber shadowed a Registered Dietitian working in cardiac rehab and fell in love – she knew it was the career path for her. Amber immediately declared Food and Nutrition as her major and says she hasn't looked back since. She feels the opportunities are endless in the nutritional sciences field.

"My college degree at Texas Tech University was the foundation of my career. I am very proud to be TTU alumni."

Amber said the professors are what stands out most about the NS department. She says she remembers her professors – Mallory Boylan, Ph.D., RDN, LD and Julian Spallholz, Ph.D. - who both had a positive impact on her.

"I was so interested and intrigued with all they had to teach. When I looked forward to going to class, that's when I knew I made the right degree choice."