Melissa Bertin graduated from ISP in 2015, and continued her studies at the Ecole de Diététique et Nutrition Humaine in Paris. She studied nutrition and dietetics in a three-year program, and we at ISP were lucky to have her sharing her knowledge with us! As part of her studies, Melissa came back to school as an intern, working together with the wellbeing teams as a dietetician to develop nutritional awareness within our community.
The following interview and story were first published on the school's news feed in November 2016. 
Why nutrition? "Studying nutrition fits nicely with my interest in science. At first, I had been thinking about studying the food industry, but ended up becoming more and more interested in the individual health, nutrition and physical exercise. I really want to help people in making informed lifestyle choices", Melissa explains.
Why Paris? "I'm half French, half Mauritian, but had never lived in either of my 'home countries'; I was born in Istanbul, and grew up attending British Schools in Egypt and Dubai. So when my family moved to Paris in 2013 and I started at ISP, Paris was a new experience for me. Now, Paris has become home. The French school is naturally again very different from ISP, with a different way of thinking and mentality. However, I've adapted to the new environment there as well, and am loving the course. I feel that I've found my place now!"
Melissa already visited ISP twice during last year to give presentations about nutrition to our students. In November 2015, she came to talk to our Grade 7 students about healthy eating in general, and in May 2016 she met with Grade 9 students and discussed the choices students have for lunch. With parental permission, our students are allowed off campus during lunch starting from the spring of Grade 9, so this was a good time to discuss healthy and balanced eating with them.
During this one-month internship Melissa will be giving workshops and presentations to our students on different themes regarding health and wellbeing. She will be organising a focus week throughout the school in December with a theme 'Eat Well, Think Better'! We are also planning a parent and staff workshop in December, and will be sending details to our community about that soon.
We are delighted to welcome Melissa back to ISP, and hope to see more alumni get in touch with us for similar projects!