Hanaa swaps navy warfare career for health and nutrition

A former Middlesbrough student has revealed how she left a career in the Royal Navy for a career in nutrition. Hanaa Metcalfe joined the Royal Navy aged 18 with ambitions of one day pursuing

higher education. While succeeding as a warfare specialist, her determination for further study saw her complete an access course on board ship – despite having little to no internet

access. She chose to leave the Navy and study dietetics after considerable research and realising she felt mostpassionate about fitness, nutrition and helping others. To mark

Dietitians' Week, she is sharing her ongoing study journey, and hopes to inspire as many people as possible. Hanaa said: “Doing what I can to help others lead healthy lives regarding

fitness and nutrition has always been really important to me. The Navy gave me some incredible opportunities, and without realising it, a move to dietetics is what I’ve always wanted to do.

“I didn’t know if university would ever be an option for me because I don’t have an affluent background, and I don’t know many other people who went. But education is so important, and it

always stuck with me that I could do it one day. "The Royal Navy is a fantastic career option, so I went in aged 18 and trained as a warfare specialist, spending a lot of time on board

ship. As you can imagine, I did a lot of travelling, boosted my confidence and thrived in high-pressure situations. “I knew I wanted to pursue higher education one day, so about seven years

in I did an access course, studying on board. My working pattern was six hours on, six hours off, which had to include sleep, so I fitted everything within a short space of time, using

mostly textbooks rather than online resources as I didn’t have much internet access. “I looked around and dietetics seemed like the perfect course for me. Doing what I can to help others

lead healthy lives regarding fitness and nutrition has always been really important to me. "The Navy gave me some incredible opportunities, and without realising it, a move to dietetics

is what I’ve always wanted to do. I’d spent time in Plymouth for work and loved it, so when I saw that the course there was highly rated, I applied and fortunately got in. It’s been a

rollercoaster but lots of skills I learned in the Navy – resilience, timekeeping, confidence – have certainly come in handy.” Hanaa’s success saw her shortlisted for the Career Changer of

the Year prize in the Undergraduate of the Year awards, run by careers hub, targetjobs. She also won £1,000 from Santander after successfully pitching a business idea to improve NHS waiting

times for weight management appointments, thanks to taking part in a competition run by The Cube, the University of Plymouth’s in-house entrepreneurship service. Going forward, she hopes her

whole journey will inspire others into healthy lifestyles, while combatting misinformation on social media. “I’ve created the Instagram @the_wannabe_dietitian to share my student journey,

while highlighting the importance of diet and wellbeing. I’m very clear that I’m not yet qualified and always signpost to the best available sources and evidence if anyone reaches out for

advice. "But I’m a huge advocate for education and want people to be equipped with the most relevant information to help them avoid disease, and live happy healthy lives. If I can help

to combat some of the misinformation out there, then that’s a big win. “Long-term I’m certainly interested in neonatal care and I’ve also developed an unlikely interest in the kidneys, so

who knows?! But I do know I want to help and support as many people as I can – whether that’s people in need of nutritional support, or people who might need a bit of encouragement to

realise that university can absolutely be for them. I feel like I belong here, and can’t wait for what comes next.” JOIN TEESSIDE LIVE'S WHATSAPP COMMUNITY FOR TOP STORIES AND BREAKING

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