{"id":3813,"date":"2018-05-09T11:35:25","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T15:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/?p=3813"},"modified":"2018-05-09T11:35:25","modified_gmt":"2018-05-09T15:35:25","slug":"nutrition-kinesiology-major-to-deliver-health-sciences-commencement-address","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/2018\/05\/09\/nutrition-kinesiology-major-to-deliver-health-sciences-commencement-address\/","title":{"rendered":"Nutrition, Kinesiology major to deliver Health Sciences commencement address"},"content":{"rendered":"

Annie Clarkin, a Cranston native, will speak at college graduation ceremony May 19<\/em><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>Urging her classmates to \u201cbe the contributors of change,\u201d Kinesiology and Nutrition double-major Annie Clarkin will deliver the College of Health Sciences commencement address during graduation weekend on May 19.<\/p>\n

Clarkin was chosen partly to honor the selfless dedication she has shown to the university and to the larger community. In addition to landing on the Dean\u2019s List nearly every semester, Clarkin was a founding member of the College of Health Sciences Advisory Council, served as the group\u2019s treasurer, and routinely volunteered at information sessions and Welcome Days for the college. She gives back at home and abroad, once traveling to Nicaragua to perform community service, and volunteering to make a video the Advisory Council used to promote a recent blood drive.\u00a0She interviewed URI employees Angela and Dan Graney, whose daughter was born with a serious condition that required lots of blood to survive.\u00a0The video was streamed in the student union and in several classes to appeal to students to give blood.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter how busy she is, she volunteers all the time to support this college and the community,\u201d said College of Health Sciences Assistant Dean Nancy Kelley. \u201cShe is an outstanding student with a great personality who is hard working and very enthusiastic about life.\u00a0She is an all-round great person.\u201d<\/p>\n

“If I can leave my peers with something, it\u2019s to know that we will be the contributors of change in the field of health and we need to be able to continue to work together and listen and respect each other.” – Annie Clarkin<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Clarkin\u2019s accomplishments led her to be chosen for the Nutrition Department\u2019s annual Excellence Award, and contributed to her selection as commencement speaker, along with the universal message of hope and optimism she plans to convey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe speech is more giving people a reason to feel inspired and excited about the future, but also being able to reflect,\u201d Clarkin said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a really bitter-sweet day. I want to just give people excitement and help them look forward to the future, and not be worried about if you don\u2019t know exactly what you want to do. Just be present in time, and to look at the grand scheme of things about what matters for your overall health, happiness and future. If I can leave my peers with something, it\u2019s to know that we will be the contributors of change in the field of health and we need to be able to continue to work together and listen and respect each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarkin is already looking toward her future, securing a spot in a year-long University of Minnesota Dietetic internship, which starts in August. With plans to become a registered dietician, specifically in the field of eating disorders, she hopes to seek a Master\u2019s degree, and plans to work in nutrition as a counselor and dietician, possibly pursuing a career researching eating disorder treatments. It\u2019s a career path steeped in personal history.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cI\u2019m in recovery from an eating disorder, so I just feel it kind of chose me in a way,\u201d Clarkin said, noting she has struggled with the disorder since she was 11 years old. \u201cWhen you go through something that really is a difficult process to find recovery, you have a very personal connection with the field and with individuals struggling from eating disorders, or negative body image. I think that\u2019s just what really drove me to be in this field. I just really want to help people in the way I have been helped and gotten to the point where I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarkin\u2019s personal experience dealing with the ups and downs of a complex recovery process gives her the perspective an effective counselor needs to better help her clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to work at it every day,\u201d Clarkin said. \u201cWe\u2019re getting light shed on eating disorders in the nutrition field, but I think there needs to be more awareness of and more advocacy for individuals struggling with eating disorders. They can affect anyone of any gender, any age, any race or ethnicity. You really need a support team. You need people who are specialized in this field, and I am so fortunate for my treatment team, for my family, for my friends to get me to the place that I am now. I know I\u2019m at a point where I\u2019m stronger than my eating disorder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarkin\u2019s speech during commencement \u2014 May 19, 7 p.m., at the Ryan Center \u2014 won\u2019t be her first turn at the mic. She served as the public speaker at the National Eating Disorder Association Walk on the quad on April 28, hosted by URI Eating Concerns Advisors. Speaking before a likely packed house in the Ryan Center is a bigger deal, but something for which her time at URI has prepared her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited. You definitely get those butterflies thinking about it. I feel like URI has given me so much, and it\u2019s kind of like an opportunity to give back to my peers and classmates and the faculty,\u201d Clarkin said. \u201cThe faculty is just amazing. They really push you and encourage you and guide you to come out of your comfort zone. You grow and develop into a soon-to-be professional, and also personally you grow and develop. I really do appreciate and love this university.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Annie Clarkin, a Cranston native, will speak at college graduation ceremony May 19 Urging her classmates to \u201cbe the contributors of change,\u201d Kinesiology and Nutrition double-major Annie Clarkin will deliver the College of Health Sciences commencement address during graduation weekend on May 19. Clarkin was chosen partly to honor the selfless dedication she has shown […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1710,"featured_media":3819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[14],"class_list":["post-3813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-uri-academic-health-collaborative"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1710"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}