NW Missouri Times

As Allison Martin realizes a long-term goal this summer of entering the Army Medical Specialist Corps, she reflects gratefully on the education, experiences, and support she gained at Northwest Missouri State University. Martin graduated from Northwest in April with a master’s degree, adding to her bachelor’s degree with a dietetics concentration.

She recently became one of just 14 candidates throughout the country selected this year to join the Specialist Corps as a clinical dietitian and for direct commission as an officer in the U.S. Army. “Every class really set me up for whatever job I wanted to get into,” Martin said, noting the benefits within Northwest’s dietetics program of learning about the clinical environment while enhancing her skills and building awareness of community issues. “Nutrition just isn’t, ‘Well, I’m going to give you a diet plan.’ It gets into food service and clinical nutrition and knowing how to work with someone, to counsel them through different issues.”

Martin, a native of Wisconsin, started her college education there before joining the Army. After three years of active duty at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, she and her husband relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska, where she continued serving as a member of the National Guard for seven years.

Simultaneously, she held a desire to finish her bachelor’s degree. That led to a visit to Northwest. “It was summertime,” Martin recalled thinking, “‘Man, this is really nice, and it’s a small school.’ So that’s how I decided.”

Allison Martin has been selected to join the Army Medical Specialist Corps after completing a master’s degree in applied health and sport sciences and a bachelor’s degree in foods and nutrition with a dietetics concentration.

Martin has long held an interest in becoming a dietitian. After finishing her bachelor’s degree with support from the GI Bill, she completed Northwest's programs and began exploring opportunities for a master’s degree to strengthen her qualifications.

Conscious of her goal to apply for the Specialist Corps and adhering to the five tenets of the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness model – nutrition, physical readiness, sleep readiness, spiritual readiness, and mental readiness – Martin earned personal training certification and enrolled in Northwest’s applied health and sport sciences program. She continued gaining clinical experience outside of her coursework in roles with Mosaic Medical Center in Maryville and Care Initiatives in Des Moines.

Martin took advantage of opportunities to work closely with faculty and staff while building relationships with peers that made her feel at home at Northwest. She served as vice president and treasurer of Kappa Omicron Nu; success network team coordinator; vice president for the National Society of Leadership and Success; president of the Northwest Student Dietetic Association; president of the Student Veterans Association; participated in Bearcat athletics; engaged in Northwest's annual emergency response field training exercise; worked as a graduate assistant in the School of Health Science and Wellness; became involved with initiatives promoting physical activity; was nominated for Northwest's Graduate Assistant of the Year award last spring.

She believes being a non-traditional student may have provided an advantage: “I had more life experience coming into college. I think for me it was easier to understand some concepts I was learning but also easier for me to be a leader to other students.”

The Specialist Corps is comprised of occupational therapists, physical therapists, clinical dietitians, and physician assistants within AMEDD (Army Medical Department). Each year candidates undergo an extensive interview process including board review ending with selection based on specialty qualifications.

“Everyone that I worked with at Northwest truly shaped not only my career but also helped me get into AMEDD by providing education and experience along the way,” Martin said.