Christi Kargl, RD

When Christi Kargl enrolled in Russell Sage College’s Dietetic Internship program, she expected to become a well-qualified dietitian. What she found was that Sage’s program also prepared her to be a good leader. 

“That wasn’t something I was necessarily expecting,” she said. But it is a role she confidently inhabits every day as a registered dietitian for a network of nursing homes, and a member of  interdisciplinary health care teams. 

“The other practitioners are worried about so many things,” she said. “If the dietitian doesn’t speak up about nutrition issues, no one will.”

Over the course of Sage’s DI program, Christi gained professional experience at state and county programs serving youth and the elderly, a nursing home, hospital and dialysis center.

Sage’s Dietetic Internship program includes two online classes in addition to 1,280 hours at internship sites. Still, Christi — who moved to Troy from Michigan  — found opportunities to connect personally with faculty and classmates. 

She was part of a cohort of Sage dietetic interns that worked together during a rotation at Ellis Hospital; traveled with fellow interns to the Dietetic Intern Leadership Summit in New York’s Finger Lakes; collaborated on an interprofessional conference Sage’s School of Health Sciences hosted with the Steffens Scleroderma Foundation; and attended a networking workshop on Sage’s Troy campus. 

She is now completing her master’s in Applied Nutrition online through Sage.

“It’s a very easy transition from the Dietetic Internship to the master’s degree,” she said. “After you finish the internship you get half of your master’s degree credits. It made it pretty easy. I’m working full time now as a dietitian, so it’s nice to be able to finish it part-time.”

At work, Christi says she regularly gets compliments on her professionalism.

“I’m really grateful,” she said. “Sage got me started on the right foot.”