Farm to Table

Phone: 719-255-4478

Email: ssvette@uccs.edu

Office: Hybl 439

Fun Things About Me - One of my passions is taking a break from the digital world for an evening bike ride. In Colorado Springs there is nothing better than watching the setting sun transform into civil twilight while riding through tree canopied neighborhoods and winding trails.  I also enjoy time in the kitchen. I have the fortune of easy access to the local Colorado Farm and Ark Market and nearby community garden. When you taste a perfectly ripe heirloom tomato there is no going back!

My Background & Experience - As a native Ohioan I first came to Colorado Springs in 2005 through the U.S. Air Force where I did security work at NORAD. It was during this time I began researching nutrition and dietetics as a career field. I was amazed such a rewarding career could exist centered around food. I spent time interviewing and speaking with local dietitians. In 2012 I found myself completing the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) program at UCCS. I stayed on campus for another 2yrs to complete the Sport Nutrition program earning a master's degree. 

Through my connections on campus I began working with a Colorado Springs non-profit, Pikes Peak Urban Gardens, where I helped with education and gardening. Through this work I developed a deep interest in our local food system. Reading books such as, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" opened my thinking and imagination on the question of where our food comes from. In 2017, after working as a dietitian at Penrose St. Francis, I returned to UCCS as a lecturer and part-time assistant manager for the Sustainability, Wellness, and Learning Program (SWELL). This was a full circle moment as I returned to work with a local food visionary, my mentor, now colleague, Dr. Nanna Meyer.  In 2011, as a graduate assistant, I helped start a project known as the Flying Carrot which focused on hands on cooking skills at farmers' markets. We drove around a funky painted bus with a blender bike and outdoor cooking equipment. Children would frequently visit our table to try a new veggie, often to the surprise of their mothers!

This initial involvement on campus as a student morphed into numerous non-traditional food projects. During January of 2020 I helped finish coordinating the fifth and final grain school conference. An event that attracted hundreds of participants focusing on restoring the role of heritage grain in the local food economy (something I would have never imagined doing during my time as an undergraduate nutrition student). 

My journey as a registered dietitian (RD), in many ways, was not the typical experience highlighted on professional websites, but I wouldn't have it any other way! As a student at UCCS, let yourself be a student! Trust in the people around you and good things will come out of those relationships. 

I'm grateful to have you as a student in my class and I believe in your ability to succeed. 

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