I became interested in nutrition as a teenager. A few years before that, my dad self-diagnosed himself with food allergies after dealing with severe migraines for 20 years. The doctor had been unable to help him, and so he had to figure it out for himself. He discovered over time that certain foods were triggering his migraines, and by cutting out those foods he could be healthy and pain-free. As teenagers, both my sister and I encountered allergies to some of the same foods as our dad. Throughout high school I struggled to avoid the foods that made me ill, and so naturally I became more aware and more interested in how food affected my health. Meanwhile, I watched many of my friends struggle with food altogether. I followed my passion for knowledge and understanding of food, and studied at Purdue University where I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics.