Ronald E. McNair Scholarship Program

Ana Mendez, a Lamar University dietetics major from Marshall, breaks down language barriers. Her goal is to deliver patients the information they need to stay healthy in a way that is easy to digest.

Mendez’s interest in dietetics came when her mother developed gestational diabetes during a pregnancy. A native of Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico, her mother spoke little English and asked Mendez, who was 14 years old, to interpret for her and her doctors.