Pursuing her master’s degree in nutrition was a long-time goal for Lindsay Sappah.
After earning her bachelor’s degree in nutrition, Sappah chose to earn her registered dietitian credential through an internship program instead of attending graduate school. She began a successful career as a dietitian, eventually landing a patient education role in the pharmaceutical industry.
She was eventually promoted to a management position; however, completing her master’s degree was always in the back of Sappah’s mind. When Sappah was laid off from her job in 2023, she decided the time was right to go back to school.
“I thought to myself – I’m not going to sit around, so I need to go back to school,” Sappah said. “When I was laid off and didn’t have my master’s, it was hard to get my foot back in the door at other pharmaceutical companies without the actual master's degree.”
Sappah was drawn to Georgia State Online’s M.S. in Nutrition Program both for its flexibility and diverse course offerings.
“Georgia State's program has a unique course selection where you don't necessarily have to focus on research, or geriatrics or pediatrics,” Sappah said. “It allows you to dabble in a little bit of everything so that you can really find out what part of nutrition you want to focus on. Nutrition and dietetics really does have a wide variety of different opportunities, and I think that Georgia State's program really showcases that for their graduate students.”
Sappah enrolled in her master’s program in Fall 2023, and she eventually found a new job while completing her studies. Throughout her program, Sappah has managed to balance the demands of work, school and caring for her two young daughters.
“I want [my daughters] to be able to see that if you put your mind to it and really want something, you can make it happen,” Sappah said. “I’m showing them that it’s OK to be busy, especially if you enjoy what you’re doing.”
To complete her coursework, Sappah gets up early each morning before her daughters wake up and studies alongside her daughters while they color or do their homework. Since she also travels for her job, she has been able to take advantage of travel time to study.
Sappah said many of her course instructors made their classes conducive to students with a busy lifestyle and would open up lectures early to allow students to work ahead. The program is asynchronous, enabling Sappah to fit the recorded lectures into her schedule.
“What I have loved about Georgia State is the classwork,” Sappah said. “It's not overwhelming as far as the amount, and the projects done in the program aren’t beyond realistic. I think that really sets you up to be a successful master’s-trained dietitian.”
Sappah encourages future students to take the time to get to know their professors, advising them to reach out to their professors during the first week of classes to understand course expectations.
“Let them know your goals, what you're most excited about and how you learn best, because that can only set you up for success,” Sappah said. “And take it one semester at a time.”
Sappah is set to graduate with her degree this spring.