ASU Wellness Coordinator fights for food security on campus

Chloe Bernier has always had her eyes set on Arizona State University. Even from all the way over in Saint-Quentin, France. 

“Fun fact, my dad moved to the US when I was a baby, but I grew up in France until I was 14,” Bernier said. “He lived in South Carolina for five years, then Arizona for six years, then went back to South Carolina and then Florida. And then he's back here now. I came to visit him over the summer.”

It was during this time that Bernier fell in love with Arizona, and decided that ASU was the place for her.

“I always wanted to be in Arizona,” Bernier said. “I always said I was going to live in Arizona one day. I told my dad when I was young, less than 10 years old, I was like, ‘I'm going to come to ASU for college.’”

Years later, Bernier has more than fulfilled that dream, as she now looks forward to walking the stage and receiving her diploma.

Majoring in dietetics through The College of Health Solutions at the Downtown campus, Bernier has had quite a busy time at ASU. If she wasn’t working as the ASU Wellness Coordinator for ASU Wellness, juggling one of her four jobs, or getting involved in her sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma, then you might have caught her in a rare opportunity to relax at the Infusion Coffee Shop in Tempe. 

For some this might seem daunting, but for Bernier this was always the dream.

“First year, I wanted to get involved and obviously, I was looking for jobs. I've always had a minimum of two jobs throughout my time here,” Bernier said. 

More than just the difficult things like work, Bernier wanted to get involved with the many enriching clubs, organizations and opportunities available at ASU.

“My first semester here at ASU, I was a nutrition educator on the Downtown campus,” Bernier explained. “It was a huge team of us. We were like 12. We created cooking demos, and the girl who got me the job and got me involved with the Student Nutrition Council, Jackie, together we created Flavors of the World. We would highlight a specific cuisine every time, just so it could be more welcoming for students and for international students, especially because she's from Mexico, I'm from France.

Bernier had always enjoyed food, coming from a family in France where “everyone was chefs and cooks.” However it was getting involved with the Nutrition Council that marked her first step in discovering her real passion. 

“Mine was kind of a slow burn, if that makes sense,” Bernier said. “Like, I obviously always wanted to be in the healthcare environment. I always wanted to help people in some way. When I moved from France to the United States, I did go through an eating disorder. So that kind of shaped how I feel about food and everything. And when I started studying dietetics, that's when I realized that's really what I want to do.”

Bernier’s experience helped her become a staunch advocate for food security and helping people, especially students, with nutritional guidance and resources so that they could approach cooking and eating in a positive way.

“I will say, it's one thing to realize that a third of students here at ASU have food insecurity,” Bernier explained. “They don't know where their next meal is going to come from. They can't cook or anything like that. That's a huge number considering there are a lot of students here at ASU too. So being able to provide food, even for one person, it's still going to help. It's going to help them move forward and be able to study better.”

Having her position evolve throughout the years, Bernier saw her Flavors of the World project join the Pitchfork Pantry, her nutrition team’s merge with the Tempe Campus Wellness program, and her promotion to ASU Wellness Coordinator. And that’s still only one part of Bernier’s involvement. 

“The thing that helped me the most is getting involved right away,” Bernier said. “Sophomore year I joined Kappa Kappa Gamma, shout out KKG. I met some of my best friends there and you never know who you're going to talk to one day. Like, ‘this girl's looking for a hair model,’ and ‘me who doesn't have money because I'm a college student,’ and this girl's now my hairstylist and one of my best friends too.”

While it can seem like a lot to be as involved and active in campus life as Bernier, she has some great advice for those who are up for the challenge. 

“The main one is pouring into your own cup in order to pour into other people's cups,” Bernier said. “I work a lot. I'm super overwhelmed. But at the end of the day, especially in the field that I want to go into, I won't be able to help others if I don't help myself first. Also, the community aspect of dietetics field and how close everybody is, especially in our major. It is crucial to have a good support system around you. It is definitely a huge lesson I learned, just having good people around you.”

Bernier has a lot of respect for the dietetics community that helped support her through her journey here at ASU. Particularly, a few teachers in that orbit that were instrumental in her continued passion.

“Maureen McCoy has definitely been the person that I've been looking up to a lot,” Bernier said. “Her support has just been unconditional since my first year. Also Traci Grgich, she's also my advisor for the Student Nutrition Council and we're all just super close. Kathy Dixon as well. She wrote me so many letters of recommendation. She's taught me so many things. She's extremely funny. And also Sandra Mayol-Kreiser, I was her TA. I have like four professors that I absolutely adore.”

Bernier explained how it was a Zoom call she joined first year that first got her in contact with Grgich and McCoy. From there she was able to create the relationships with these teachers that fostered a supportive environment throughout her time at ASU. While Bernier may have had a lot of support, it was all garnered from her work connecting with people around campus and putting herself out there. 

However, even hard workers like Bernier need a break sometimes. As graduation quickly approaches, Bernier looks forward to taking a little time for herself once everything is said and done.  

“I had to take a step back. I need a master's degree to become a registered dietitian, but I realized that I'm only 20,” Bernier explained. “I graduated in three years. I have so much life ahead of me. I don't need to be focused on my career right away. So I'm going to be working and taking a mental health year next year. Maybe two, maybe I'll go to Australia in two years. I don't know. Maybe I'll travel around. I'll be able to go back home a little bit more to see my mom and my sister.”

While Bernier looks forward to taking a year, maybe two, off to enjoy herself, she still has her eyes on the prize when she returns to get her master’s. 

“We made this beautiful planet into a very hard place to live for everybody,” Bernier said. “Just here in America, we're very developed, but we do have a lot of people who don't have access to food. There's not necessarily help for everyone. I come from France where access to food is much more prominent. So I've seen how it goes. I will say, world hunger in general and being able to bring food to the table for every single person, especially children who are growing, that's what I want to do.”