Margaret Smith is a Chicago-based writer and editor with a passion for storytelling about her community. When not wordsmithing, she enjoys swimming in Lake Michigan, visiting museums and watching horror films.
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Online and On Track
Health & Well-Being
There’s no such thing as a typical day in the life of one of RFU’s online students, who often balance competing priorities along their way to earning their degrees. Gabriela Lopez is earning her MS in clinical and lifestyle nutrition in Texas. A dietetic technician, mother and student, Ms. Lopez takes us through a day in her life, though she is quick to point out no two are the same.
4:20 am My day begins quietly with school tasks.
6:30 AM I arrive at the local VA (Veterans Affairs) kitchen, where I support food-service operations before moving to the outpatient clinic.
3:30 PM Movement recharges my energy.
4:30 PM I record myself for my culinary medicine classes.
7:30 PM I take a sunset power walk in the evening, camera in hand, which mentally prepares me for the following day.
Published July 1, 2026
