Her Story
About Madeline
I have my own private practice where I provide bilingual nutrition services, offering individual nutrition consultations and medical nutrition therapy to patients, mostly Latinos who have diabetes, prediabetes, hypertension, and cancer. I conduct cooking demonstrations throughout different areas in Chicago in both English and Spanish, teaching people how to cook healthy meals that are cheap, affordable, and enjoyable. My journey to this field came after working in a different industry for many years, where I felt something was missing. When I discovered nutrition and dietetics, I fell in love with how nutrition connects us and how food works in our body to help prevent diseases, manage diseases, and connect people. I went back to school and completed my second bachelor's degree, master's degree, and internship. Now I feel happy doing what I do because I love when people say they never tried something before and now it tastes delicious. Helping people eat healthy is special to me. My typical day includes in-person consultations at my office in Naperville, grocery shopping for cooking demos, and traveling to hospitals, community centers, or even my home to conduct demonstrations. I try to pack my day with a little bit of everything so I don't get bored and my day stays interesting.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Madeline
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to hard work, dedication, and being organized. It takes all of these things to keep going, especially when you have your own practice and you're working alone, not at a hospital. Some days are hard, but I keep moving forward because I know there are a lot of people out there, especially Latinos and people with cancer and diabetes, who need my services. That's what motivates me to keep going, to keep innovating, to keep going to the community, and to keep doing the things I'm doing.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is don't give up, keep moving forward. In this field, being alone with my own practice and not working at a hospital can be stressful. Some days are hard, but I've been told to keep going, that everything's gonna be better, that I'm doing great. People remind me to keep moving forward because patients need me, many people need me. I know that there are a lot of people out there, especially Latinos and people with cancer and diabetes, who need my services. Those are the best pieces of advice I've received, and that's what motivates me to keep going, to keep innovating, to keep going to the community, and to keep doing the things I'm doing.
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