UBC Reports | Vol. 50 | No. 5 | May 6, 2004

UBC was a Journey of Self-discovery for Dietetics Grad

Yuka Asada found her calling

By April Wilson-Lange

Yuka Asada has learned a lot since she started her undergraduate degree at UBC in 1999. And it’s not all school related.

Like many first year students, Asada, 22, didn’t know what she was going to do with her life when she started university.

“I thought about wildlife preservation,” says Asada, who graduates this month from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences’ food, nutrition and health program, “but I didn’t have any ideas and I didn’t know what my options were.”

It wasn’t until she took the Nutrition Concepts and Controversies course in second year that Asada found her calling. “It was the first course that really sparked my interest and I felt compelled to learn more about it.”

But this was only the first step of her journey.

Feeling she needed to broaden her horizons further, Asada went to Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan in her third year as part of UBC’s Student Exchange Program. “I learned so much about myself the year I was away.”

One of the things she learned was that she loved teaching. To make some extra money, Asada taught English at a local school.

“I enjoyed motivating people to learn and tailoring lessons to each student,” she recalls.

Wanting to share some of her knowledge and insights, Asada worked as a Student Ambassador in her final semester at UBC, educating Vancouver students about the different programs available through Agricultural Sciences and creating awareness about issues related to land, food and the community.

“A program like this would have really helped me when I was in high school,” says the Vancouver resident.

The next step on Asada’s journey is a one-year internship at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.