Texas Tech Dietetics Alumna Recognized for Registered Young Dietitian Award

Dietetic internship graduate promotes nutritional education across Texas

An alumna of the Dietetic Internship Program at Texas Tech University, Christina Saliba MS, RD, LD, was recently recognized as the winner of the 2019 Registered Young Dietitian Award by the Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

After completing Texas Tech's dietetic internship in 2017, Christina became very involved in community outreach and education. Christina actively participates with the West Region of the Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and now serves as a preceptor for the Midland/Odessa dietetic internship rotations with TTU.

Director of Dietetic Internship, Shelley Fillipp, M.S., RDN, LD, recalls Christina as a motivated intern who was engaged in every site rotation.

"I appreciate her talent and ability to teach and guide dietetic interns and provide them with a great site for the interns to gain dietetic experience in both food management and clinical skills," Shelley said. "She is very deserving of the Registered Dietitian of the Year for the North Region. We need more young practitioners like her willing to get involved in our professional organization!"

When Christina is not working in her role as preceptor, she works as a Patient Experience Manager and Registered Dietitian for Permian Regional Hospital in Andrews under the contract company, Unidine.

"I think it is great being able to practice all aspects of dietetics at my job including acute patient care, long term care, food service, and management," Christina said. "My days are always exciting and variable which I really enjoy! I also love working within a small town where I can be heavily involved in the community and see positive changes."

When Christina heard the news that she had been selected for Registered Young Dietitian of the Year she said she felt honored and appreciated. Looking back on her dietetic internship experience, Christina said her experiences allowed her to feel confident and qualified to think outside the box.

"The dietetic internship allowed me to experience most areas of dietetics empowering me to pursue jobs that I might not have before," Christina said. "The program is also very well structured and provides so much variety when it comes to the rotations allowing the interns to experience all angles of the dietetics world."

For Christina, the faculty and leadership at Texas Tech stood out compared to other programs.

"Everyone was so supportive and encouraging in pursuing my dietetic journey and I knew I can place my trust in the faculty to successfully complete the program," Christina said.