Nutrition and Dietetics: Alumni Detail

Jessica Buschmann, MS, RDN, LDN

Jessica Buschmann graduated from Marywood University in 2012 with a Masters of Science in Sports Nutrition and Exercise Science. Currently, she works as a Registered Dietitian for the Sports Medicine Department at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Also, she works as an adjunct professor at Otterbein University and teaches the upper level nutrition courses. Needless to say- Jessica has very few dull or unplanned moments, but to love what you do is never truly working a day in your life.

When Jessica started her undergraduate career, she had her sights set very firmly on pediatric physical therapy. In order to compliment that plan, she chose an undergraduate career in Athletic Training. As her academic career progressed, she started to feel that a career in athletic training or physical therapy might not be the right career choice for her. Despite this inclination, Jessica did not have the courage to speak up or the desire to start completely over. Her senior year at Otterbein enlightened her a great deal. During the fall semester she did an athletic training internship at Nationwide Children’s Sports Medicine. The program was only a few years old at the time and she was fortunate to be the first intern to go through the program. On Jessica’s last day, her manager Lisa Kluchurosky said to her: “Jess, call me when you graduate. Go do your graduate school thing, then call me”.

Jessica loved being at Nationwide Children’s so much, she chose to do another internship for the Food and Nutrition (F.A.N) Club which provided underprivileged children homework help, guided exercise, and healthy snacks after school. One day an 8-year old boy approached her and inquired: “Miss Jess, what is this? What do I do with it?” He was holding an orange in his hand. That’s when it all clicked. Jessica quickly realized that reservation she always had was valid. She will never forget having to tell her family and friends that after 4 years of focusing on this career path, she was completely changing gears. Jessica knew from that moment without a shadow of a doubt she wanted to help people (especially children) live healthier lifestyles namely through providing nutrition education.

Jessica quickly changed her career path towards dietetics. In addition to taking Masters classes at Marywood, she took additional undergraduate classes so she could apply for the Coordinated Program. Jessica was fortunate to be one of the ten students selected that year for the program. She felt fortunate she was able to complete a Masters and do the Coordinated Program simultaneously in order to expedite her academic career and optimize her experience at Marywood.

During her time at Marywood University, Jessica was a graduate assistant for the Nutrition and Dietetics Department working alongside some wonderful mentors including Mrs. Jessica Bodzio, Dr. Joanne Christaldi, Dr. Diana Cuy-Castellanos, Dr. Jessica Bachman, and Dr. Lee Harrison. Without this team of faculty, she would wholeheartedly not be where she is today. They were selfless in their efforts to help encourage and coach her through some of the most challenging years of her life.  For two of her three years at Marywood, Jessica was also a Resident Assistant in Immaculata Hall. This position was certainly a humbling, yet gratifying experience. Even though she was a graduate student, Jessica loved being immersed in the undergraduate experience and watching her residents develop into young professionals.

One of the highlights of her time at Marywood was traveling to Tanzania, Africa to perform a nutrition survey at Bigwa School for Girls in Morogoro, Tanzania. A majority of the students at Bigwa are Catholic Sisters. Marywood University is affiliated with the African Sisters Educational Collaborative, which helps provide numerous resources for Bigwa. Overall Jessica was asked to collect data about students eating habits at Bigwa and match it against the food offerings, availability, and composition for one week. She had the students keep a food record for 3 days, toured their facilities, observed food preparation, explored farming abilities, and went grocery shopping in local markets. Jessica learned to problem solve in the face of adversity, which typically meant no electricity or her inability to speak Swahili! It was an unmatched experience, which she will not soon forget.

After graduation in May 2012, Jessica accepted a position at Sodexo as a resource dietitian. Ultimately this position took her into food service accounts, which were lacking a dietitian and needed someone to fill the void temporarily. It was a great position for a new grad because she truly learned something new each day. Thinking on your feet was definitely a must for that job!

About 6 weeks post graduation from Marywood, Jessica was at an account in Detroit, Michigan. She got back to my hotel room after a long day of work. Jessica logged onto LinkedIn and noticed she had a personal message from Lisa Kluchurosky. It simply stated: “Is your number the same?” Jessica quickly replied, “Yes it is!” Her response in summary was to expect a call the next evening from her. The first words out of her mouth were “What did I tell you to do when you graduated?” Jessica immediately explained how she changed career paths from Athletic Training to Nutrition. She said she had kept tabs on Jessica the past 3 years and knew that was her intention. Her sole reason for calling was to see if Jessica wanted to move to Columbus and build the Sports Nutrition program for the Sports Medicine Department at Nationwide Children’s. Jessica could hardly speak! This was quite literally her dream job and very few (if any!) similar positions exist in the entire country to date. Jessica was so excited, yet nervous to start this adventure.

Jessica has been with Nationwide Children’s Sports Medicine for 2½ years now. The program is growing with each passing month. Personally, she could not be happier with the position. Her daily job duties include counseling pediatric and adolescent athletes, speaking engagements for youth and school sports teams, professional presentations, conducting research alongside our sports medicine physicians, and other duties she affectionately refer to as “duties otherwise as assigned”. Jessica’s patients are young athletes who range from completely healthy looking to optimize their performance in sports all the way to children recovering from leukemia with high hopes to play baseball again. Her position is ever evolving and at times feels limitless. When asked if she regrets her time in athletic training, her answer is immediately and emphatically “Not at all. I would not change a single thing”. Jessica works with 35 athletic trainers each day and knowing what their positions fully entail has been crucial. Beyond her position at Children’s, she has had the opportunity to co-author a chapter for the new ASPEN Manual, be on National News segments discussing topics such as the Female Athlete Triad, and confer with some of the most well known individuals in the field of sports nutrition. Each opportunity Jessica counts as a tremendous blessing and chance to share the importance of nutrition in creating healthful lifestyles for yourself and those you care about. Jessica would not be where she is today without her degree, experiences, friendships, and mentorship she received during her time at Marywood University. If you’re ever in Columbus, Jessica welcomes you to come say hi!