Meet Stasi Kasianchuk, MS, RD, CSSD, LD, CSCS, CEP, who coaches clients to achieve their health goals while also working with an exercise team to deliver evidence-based exercise recommendations to her clients. Enjoying her passion for health, food, and fitness has resulted in Stasi finding her dream job. – Sarah

What attracted you to the field of nutrition and dietetics? Food has a unique way of connecting people. Working in the field of nutrition and dietetics I am able to relate to others through our common need to eat, while at the same time improve their life by sharing my interest and passion in the power of optimal nutrition to promote health and wellness.

Your Job Title? Registered Dietitian, Arivale Coach

Company you are with now? Arivale

Website: https://www.arivale.com/

Social Media:  – Twitter: @arivaleteam

Describe a typical (or not so typical) day-in-the-work-life for you? As an Arivale Coach my day-to-day responsibilities include supporting my caseload of Pioneers in achieving their health goals through interactive phone calls and providing resources which support them in their journey of optimizing their wellness. I also work on our Exercise Team to assist in the delivery and support of evidence based exercise recommendations for Arivale Pioneers.

How did you get your current job in dietetics? I learned about this position from a colleague who I met during my time working in college athletics who had just started working for Arivale. At the time, I was starting to become really intrigued with the science around personalized nutrition using genetics and blood data to prescribe nutrition. After I learned what Arivale was doing to around P4 Medicine (predictive, preventative, personalized, and participatory) I knew it was the combination of nutrition science and behavior change science that I wanted to be a part of.

What skills were you born with and what skills have you learned along the way? This is a great question. I don’t think I have ever specifically thought about this…I think I was born with a streak of independence (at times this can come across as stubbornness) which has been helpful in my willingness to take risks in my career (and life) which in turn have led to great opportunities. I also think I may have been born a “people person.” I have always thrived off of interactions with others. With every job I have had I have been fortunate to be in a position which I was immersed in an environment which allowed me to learn every single day. As a result, I have learned SO many skills “along the way” and look forward to learning more. The learned skills which standout in my mind are the power of networking (everyone knows someone and the world is a lot smaller than we all realize), patience (this is still a skill “in process” for me), and open-mindedness (at the start of my internship one of my preceptors told me, “keep an open-mind and everything will be fine.” I cannot admit to doing this 100% of the time, but when I am able to everything works out much better).

What advice do you have for others wanting to be just as successful and fulfilled as you? Be open-minded and recognize feedback (positive or constructive) as a gift. Challenges represents opportunities and be comfortable with being uncomfortable (as hard as it is at times) as this is when growth occurs. Embrace it.

If you could be paid for your job with something other than a paycheck, what would it be? This is the easiest question! Hands down I would easily accept Pacific Northwest (local for me) food and food products in place of a paycheck. The variety and options are endless!

Sarah Koszyk is founder of Family. Food. Fiesta. A family-based wellness program and blog focusing on recipes, family health tips, and videos with kids cooking in the kitchen. She is a Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Coach specializing in sports nutrition and adult and pediatric weight management. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or LinkedIn.