Aaliyah Jenkins

Credit: Vivian Abagiu

Nutrition and Plan II senior. Interviewed by Grace Dickens.

What drew you to major in nutrition and Plan II?

I’ve always had a penchant for writing, and I wanted to have a significant part of my education in the liberal arts arena, but I also am very science-minded, and I was interested in human health, public health and preventative health care. I found nutrition through that passion. I care a lot about helping people with their relationship with food and trying to manage health with food because everyone eats. I think it’s a great impact point to help people live a better life, and it also is so interdisciplinary because it intersects with things like the economy and the environment.

What is your role in the newly relaunched UT Nutrition Institute? 

I started with UTNI in August, and I’ve been helping with coordinating content production for the online blogging platform. We’re building it from the ground up, making nutrition information easily consumable for different audiences: health professionals, entrepreneurs, lifelong learners and members of the community, whether they cook, parent or simply want to improve their health.

What has been your most valuable experience at UT thus far?

I would say the opportunity to get to write my own show [a play called “terms&CONDITIONS”], direct it and put it on for the community here, because I got to synthesize a lot of my different interests. I feel like that was a pretty pivotal moment in my undergraduate career.

What is the play you wrote and directed about? 

It is a story about a girl who’s struggling a lot with mental health issues. The play follows her throughout trying to learn more about herself. It explores a lot of different themes, like family dynamics, the relationship she has with food and being seen. I wrote it because I couldn’t find a play I wanted to direct that was exactly what I wanted to do. It felt like a story that I just needed to write.

Do you have any advice for new students?

I would say try anything and everything that seems interesting, because there’s really something for everybody. Finding a smaller community to engage with in a campus of this size is critical because people are really great resources in terms of helping to find what you really like. You can find your passions and your soul. 

Find nutrition tips penned by Jenkins at utnutritioninstitute.org

The play “terms&CONDITIONS,” written by Jenkins, highlights the overlap between families, health and mental health.

“I think it’s a great impact point to help people live a better life, and it also is so interdisciplinary because it intersects with things like the economy and the environment.”