After graduating high school, Leah Coene wanted to work in an industry that combined both food and health, and she soon discovered that Iowa State University had exactly what she was looking for.

Upon her visit to ISU, Coene was met by Anne Oldham, an academic advisor in the dietetics program, who gave her the exact tools she needed to make her choice.

This is Leah Coene’s Future in the Making.

Wanting to work in a hospital, but not wanting to become a doctor, Coene found the perfect alternative by pursuing a dietetics degree. Upon her start at ISU, Coene was met, just like many other students, with an inopportune start to their college experience: COVID-19.

Coene wasn’t going to let a pandemic stop her college experience. With limited interactions and online courses, Leah took advantage of her time and spent it with her roommates and close neighbors who have since become some of her best friends.

As for her classwork during COVID-19, Coene was still able to experience social distanced in-person labs, but with the rest of her experience being online, she soon came to appreciate in-person classes

An education is only as good as your professors some say, and for Coene her education was unmatched. Erica Beirman, a Food Science and Human Nutrition professor, is accredited and Coene can attest as to why, “Erica is a very personable professor both in and out of the classroom. She is very knowledgeable and puts her students first.”

With her time at ISU, Coene has been active with the women’s ultimate frisbee club, culinary club and Student Dietetics Association which have given her a great opportunity to travel and connect with her classmates who also share a passion for Dietetics or Culinary Food Science.

Coene’s goal after graduation is to help patients as a Clinical Dietitian in a hospital or to use her creative spirit to curate recipes for videos and magazines for an organization such as Bon Appetit!

What most excites Coene about her future is using all the materials and tools she gained here at Iowa State in the professional field.