LR student hopes to improve health, future of American Samoa

American Samoa looks like a postcard. A territory of the United States and island chain in the Pacific Ocean, American Samoa screams paradise and wonder with white sandy beaches, mountains, lush vegetation and beautiful blue harbors with a rich cultural background.

However, there’s trouble in paradise.

According to a study performed by Yale School of Medicine, nearly 1 in 3 adults of American Samoa have diabetes. While the territory has positive attributes, one of its drawbacks is the isolation, which, combined with a lack of suitable agricultural opportunity, has forced its residents to become dependent on imported and processed food, causing cases of obesity, diabetes and heart disease to skyrocket.

As a native of American Samoa, Sharon Ah Ping grew up seeing the effects of improper nutrition among friends, family members and the community at large. That’s what led her to the dietetic internship program at Lenoir-Rhyne University.

“A lot of people are dependent on imports, which affects their health,” she said. “Another problem is limited access to medical procedures and health care workers. My mom is the only Samoan registered dietician on the island, and she’s had to recruit dieticians from the United States and all over the world to help. I’ve grown up seeing how it affects the community and seeing such a huge need for dieticians throughout the South Pacific.”

Ah Ping attended an undergraduate school in Arkansas, graduating in the spring of 2021 with her bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics from Harding University when she came across LR’s internship program.

“I was looking around, and LR’s program was the only program that had a focus on childhood intervention of obesity,” she said. “I’d never been to North Carolina, but I enjoyed visiting my sister in South Carolina. So I enrolled in the program, moved to Asheville and have enjoyed it.”

A nine-month program, LR’s dietetic internship combines classroom study and discussion with intense fieldwork that gives aspiring dieticians a well-round knowledge base from which to draw.

“Our program is intensely focused on providing our interns with high-quality experiences to greater ensure their success professionally,” said Myra Vergani, dietetics instructor. “The faculty are a part of what makes our program. As a result, we not only have strong academic backgrounds but also have years of practical experience in various settings.”

Students attend a week-long orientation in person before striking out for fieldwork rotations that are full 40-hour workweeks. Those rotations are divided into three sections, giving participants experience in a clinical setting, such as a hospital; a community service environment, such as a health department or outpatient facility; and foodservice management.

By the time they’ve completed the program, students have completed more than 900 hours of fieldwork, in addition to 100 hours of simulation activities. Over the last three years, 95 percent of LR students have passed the Commission on Dietetic Registration credentialing exam on the first attempt.

“The program accepts everyone,” Ah Ping said. “It doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are. We all have different experiences coming in, but it gives us the opportunity to learn many new things. I’m enjoying it so much.”

One rotation, in particular, caught Ah Ping’s eye – a partnership the program has with the Appalachian Sustainable Agricultural Project in western North Carolina, where interns work with local farmers and communities showing them how to grow produce locally and utilize it in farm-to-table programs in community organizations and schools.

She is also looking forward to gaining experience in a hospital setting working with patients who have diabetes.

“It’s one of the leading diseases back home,” she said. “I have family members who have Type 1 diabetes and Type 2. I’ve grown up watching people deal with that disease and not have the knowledge to approach their illness. It’s motivated me to help people who lack the resources or knowledge to deal with their diabetes and live a better life.”