Standing in the Pendulum Court Cafe’s kitchen, Kate Cragun (MS ’27, NDFS) checked the production chart pinned to the wall. Every meal, ingredient, and task had been planned days before the first pot was placed on the stove. When a delivery arrived late, the team quickly reorganized without slowing their progress. In that moment Cragun understood something new about dietetics: the nutrition was essential, but it was the management—the planning, leadership, and coordination—that made it possible to turn knowledge into real care for people. For her, the experience revealed that management is not separate from dietetics, but rather a critical componentthat allows nutrition expertise to reach people in meaningful and consistent ways.
Working as a research assistant for Dr. Emily Patten, Cragun documents the career experiences of middle-to late career dietitians who are foodservice management educators and researchers. Her work is part of a national oral history project that explores the importance of management within dietetics. “Students don't view dietitians as needing management skills,” Cragun explains, "but those skills are imperative because they translate over to a lot of different areas and lead to success.”
The greatest thing that I learned about leadership is that it's not an individual role. It really comes from the team, and from being able to involve everyone.
Cragun also worked as a teaching assistant for Dr. Stokes and Dr. Patten and served as a manager at the Pendulum Court Cafe, an eatery run by dietetics students and designed to give them hands-on experience in a quality food setting. Through these experiences, she has learned that the strongest leaders are those who empower those around them. “The greatest thing that I learned about leadership is that it's not an individual role,” Cragun explains. “It really comes from the team, and from being able to involve everyone.”
Currently, Cragun is completing her supervised practice hours to become credentialed as a registered dietitian nutritionist. This experience has given her hands-on training in real-world clinical settings, reinforcing what she first realized in the school kitchen: that effective care depends not only on understanding nutrition, but on the ability to plan, lead, and adapt in fast-paced environments.
With her rotations wrapping up in April, Cragun is poised to take the next step in her career, ready to apply both her knowledge and her management skills to make a meaningful impact in the field of dietetics.