Upon receiving the award, Stephanie expressed both gratitude and surprise. She commented that it felt great to know her hard work and effort were appreciated. Dr. Kathleen Gorman, Director of the Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America concurred saying, “Stephanie is one of those students I would love to clone; she is intelligent, fun-loving, hard-working, committed and witty all at the same time. She wants to be the best she can be while making it look easy.”

Stephanie has been accepted into a Dietetic Internship Program at Keen State College in New Hampshire starting in September. The internship program will provide opportunities for Stephanie to hone her skills through supervised experiences in hospitals, community settings, and food service venues. In the future, Stephanie hopes to be back in Rhode Island working as a nutritionist with low-income residents in a community agency or in a policy setting.

The Anti-Hunger Leadership Award is awarded to students who have demonstrated extensive knowledge of hunger and poverty issues and who have used their skills to contribute to the education and outreach activities in the community. The fund was started with a donation from Dorothy Shackleton, a former employee with the RI Department of Human Services.

The URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America coordinates Rhode Island’s SNAP Outreach Project through a contract with the RI Department of Human Services with support from the US Department of Agriculture.