Nutrition instructor and registered dietitian Karen Gabrielsen knows that there is more to teaching than giving out grades. Not only does she use her love of nutrition to teach students how the body works, but she also helps them make better lifestyle choices and become healthier people.
Gabrielsen finds the body and its functions fascinating, which is why she’s so passionate about her subject. With her easy-going personality she can easily interact with students and make being healthy sound fun.
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| Gabrielsen enjoys sunny places, exercising, and teaching about nutrition. |
“I just think it’s so fascinating how the body works. It’s just so amazing what goes on behind the scenes that we don’t know about,” said Gabrielsen. “In nutrition you can really make an impact in terms of them [students] taking it in personally, and really change their life and their focus and be healthier.”
Gabrielsen initially wanted to be a nurse when she was younger, but later decided that being a dietician was her true passion. After working at Providence Regional Medical Center for 15 years, she started teaching, and loved it.
“When I was in grad school I was a teaching assistant and I really enjoyed that, so I always kind of had this little bug in me that I might like to teach someday,” said Gabrielsen. “And I just love the topic and so it’s fun to share what I know and be able to help to motivate students, not only to further their careers and help with what they’re going into, but also to help their health and their lifestyle.”
Gabrielsen’s own lifestyle is fulfilling and healthy. With both of her kids studying at the University of Washington, she spends her downtime jogging, bike riding, shopping, doing things with friends, and crafting. She sews and goes to craft fairs for home décor inspiration, and gets together with her girlfriends to make paper crafts. She has also ran four half marathons in the past couple of years.
“It’s a big sense of accomplishment to do something like that,” she said about finishing a half marathon. “It’s just such a good feeling about yourself that no one else can give to you.”
As for health advice, Gabrielsen stresses the importance of exercise and gets her food mantra from author Michael Pollan: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”
“I like that one because ‘eat food’ means eat real food, not the processed manipulated kind of food. ‘Not too much’ speaks to the moderation piece, the portion sizes. And the mostly plants, I tell students that doesn’t mean you can’t eat animal foods, it just means that you really need to think about getting more of those fruits and vegetables and getting more whole grains,” said Gabrielsen. “It’s pretty easy to remember and it speaks to the whole way of eating.”
Q&A:
Q: What’s your favorite color?
A: Pink. By far.
Q: What’s your favorite place?
A: Wherever it’s sunny. We don’t get enough of that here.
Q: What’s your favorite food?
A: As a dietician, I probably shouldn’t say what my favorite food is. But, I’ll say it anyway: Chocolate. In moderation!
Q: What’s your favorite outdoor activity.
A: Maybe bike riding. I do jog quite a bit, but I’d say the bike riding is more enjoyable than the jogging. Jogging is good for fitness.
Q: What’s your favorite class to teach?
A: I probably enjoy the sports nutrition the most. I’ve been teaching both of them for quite a while, but
sports nutrition is just more specialized for fitness and athletic performance and that’s what I did my
research on when I was in graduate school. So I’m just really interested in that topic. And the students
are really motivated to learn in that class. Not that they aren’t motivated in the other classes, but it’s
their passion to be a better athlete or to work out or be more fit. So, it makes it more fun in that regard.
Q: What’s your favorite music group?
A: I don’t really listen to music all that much. I mean I listen to it on the radio. I tend to listen to talk radio now.
Q: If you could be doing anything right now, what would it be?
A: I think I’d just travel. There’s a lot of the United States I haven’t seen. I’d love to go over to Boston
and New England and down into Florida and then I’d like to go to Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Even if I had to just get a car and take my time, buy a little motor home and just kinda go on a big road trip, I think it’d be fun. Without any cares. And it wouldn’t be super expensive, you know to travel in the U.S. I really love to discover new areas. Just check them out, and experience the culture. I always like to go and exercise when I’m ina new place, because it’s like oh, I’m running in a new town along a new beach. Bike rides, or little mopeds. Its kind of a fun way to explore.
A day in the life of Karen:
"Pretty busy, because I’m teaching a lot of classes. I get up, get ready, come to work. Teach my three classes here on campus and then I come back, do my office hours, and typically I head home and kinda do school work. A lot of grading papers. I’ve got online classes, so it’s pretty encompassing. During the 11 weeks that the quarter lasts, I really do a lot of schoolwork. I find time to have some fun, but really what I enjoy is the breaks in between school, just like the students do when you don’t feel like there’s something else you should be doing. I fill up my little in between spaces with the girlfriends, and the exercise, and the crafting and sewing."
“When I was in grad school I was a teaching assistant and I really enjoyed that, so I always kind of had this little bug in me that I might like to teach someday,” said Gabrielsen. “And I just love the topic and so it’s fun to share what I know and be able to help to motivate students, not only to further their careers and help with what they’re going into, but also to help their health and their lifestyle.”
Gabrielsen’s own lifestyle is fulfilling and healthy. With both of her kids studying at the University of Washington, she spends her downtime jogging, bike riding, shopping, doing things with friends, and crafting. She sews and goes to craft fairs for home décor inspiration, and gets together with her girlfriends to make paper crafts. She has also ran four half marathons in the past couple of years.
“It’s a big sense of accomplishment to do something like that,” she said about finishing a half marathon. “It’s just such a good feeling about yourself that no one else can give to you.”
As for health advice, Gabrielsen stresses the importance of exercise and gets her food mantra from author Michael Pollan: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”
“I like that one because ‘eat food’ means eat real food, not the processed manipulated kind of food. ‘Not too much’ speaks to the moderation piece, the portion sizes. And the mostly plants, I tell students that doesn’t mean you can’t eat animal foods, it just means that you really need to think about getting more of those fruits and vegetables and getting more whole grains,” said Gabrielsen. “It’s pretty easy to remember and it speaks to the whole way of eating.”
Q&A:
Q: What’s your favorite color?
A: Pink. By far.
Q: What’s your favorite place?
A: Wherever it’s sunny. We don’t get enough of that here.
Q: What’s your favorite food?
A: As a dietician, I probably shouldn’t say what my favorite food is. But, I’ll say it anyway: Chocolate. In moderation!
Q: What’s your favorite outdoor activity.
A: Maybe bike riding. I do jog quite a bit, but I’d say the bike riding is more enjoyable than the jogging. Jogging is good for fitness.
Q: What’s your favorite class to teach?
A: I probably enjoy the sports nutrition the most. I’ve been teaching both of them for quite a while, but
sports nutrition is just more specialized for fitness and athletic performance and that’s what I did my
research on when I was in graduate school. So I’m just really interested in that topic. And the students
are really motivated to learn in that class. Not that they aren’t motivated in the other classes, but it’s
their passion to be a better athlete or to work out or be more fit. So, it makes it more fun in that regard.
Q: What’s your favorite music group?
A: I don’t really listen to music all that much. I mean I listen to it on the radio. I tend to listen to talk radio now.
Q: If you could be doing anything right now, what would it be?
A: I think I’d just travel. There’s a lot of the United States I haven’t seen. I’d love to go over to Boston
and New England and down into Florida and then I’d like to go to Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Even if I had to just get a car and take my time, buy a little motor home and just kinda go on a big road trip, I think it’d be fun. Without any cares. And it wouldn’t be super expensive, you know to travel in the U.S. I really love to discover new areas. Just check them out, and experience the culture. I always like to go and exercise when I’m ina new place, because it’s like oh, I’m running in a new town along a new beach. Bike rides, or little mopeds. Its kind of a fun way to explore.
A day in the life of Karen:
"Pretty busy, because I’m teaching a lot of classes. I get up, get ready, come to work. Teach my three classes here on campus and then I come back, do my office hours, and typically I head home and kinda do school work. A lot of grading papers. I’ve got online classes, so it’s pretty encompassing. During the 11 weeks that the quarter lasts, I really do a lot of schoolwork. I find time to have some fun, but really what I enjoy is the breaks in between school, just like the students do when you don’t feel like there’s something else you should be doing. I fill up my little in between spaces with the girlfriends, and the exercise, and the crafting and sewing."
Story by Lily Haight
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