Avery Karp
Title:
Nutrition Volunteer
Major:
Dietetics
Year:
Class of 2025
Hometown:
Woodstock, GA
Athletes at the University of Georgia continually push themselves to the limit, whether it’s practice or an actual competition. A carefully planned diet is essential in keeping up this demanding level of effort.
That’s where nutrition volunteer Avery Karp comes in. For Karp, almost every day revolves around sports nutrition, from blending smoothies to stocking fridges to supporting hydration needs.
Karp is both a football nutrition volunteer and a student worker with the university’s “Olympic” sports like basketball, baseball, and gymnastics. The nutrition bar in UGA’s athletic facility, known as “Bones,” is like a second home to Karp. In an average week, she may spend upwards of 25 hours at the facility.
“People are relying on us to help support the nutrition needs of our athletes,” says Karp. “So they’re very intense hours. Weekends can be even crazier, depending on if there’s a game or a holiday. Honestly, the hours fly by because I’m so excited to be there.”
A lot of people struggle with food-related issues or getting enough hydration, and the fact that I can help them make progress on their goals is one of the biggest things that excites me about a career in dietetics.
Avery Karp
Nutrition Volunteer
As soon as the morning workouts start, Karp and her colleagues begin working on the players’ nutritional shakes. UGA’s Football Performance Nutrition department has professional dietitians who develop the recipes for each shake before passing them on to Karp and the other volunteers. Each one is carefully crafted to help individual nutrition and weight goals.
“It’s a lot of shakes,” she says. “Maybe 50 to 100. There are three or four of us working on making them at a time.”
The players grab the shakes after practice, and then it’s on to preparing snacks for quick carbs and hydration. Cramps are always a big concern.
“You have no idea how many pickles I prep a day,” she says.
Pineapples. Strawberries. Protein powder. In the hands of a trained sports dietitian, these become more than simple ingredients. As a dietetics major, Karp’s courses have helped her gain a deeper understanding of the science of nutrition and how to properly communicate it to the athletes she works with. She looks forward to future courses in clinical and food service nutrition that will take her skills to the next level.
Karp has gained her foundational knowledge from courses in organic chemistry and anatomy but is now learning how food plays a major role in preventing disease, managing health, and maintaining weight. This idea struck a chord in Karp. Beyond providing student-athletes with the necessary energy to perform, Karp wants to help athletes struggling with weight and eating issues in the future so they can use nutrition to build a healthier lifestyle.
“It’s an amazing thing to watch someone improve their physical and mental health because of something you did. A lot of people struggle with food-related issues or getting enough hydration, and the fact that I can help them make progress on their goals is one of the biggest things that excites me about a career in dietetics,” says Karp.
As though she weren’t busy enough, Karp is also the secretary of UGA’s Student Dietetic Association and a member of the Greater Atlanta Dietetic Association. After graduation, Karp plans to get her master’s degree in sports nutrition and become a sports dietitian. She’ll do a “dietetic internship,” similar to a year-long medical residency, which includes rotations in a local hospital and a rigorous exam.
“I’ve been preparing for a career in dietetics for a long time,” says Karp. “I love using what I’ve learned to improve someone’s ambitions. I even love getting up at five in the morning. I just feel lucky to have found what I want to do and a clear path to getting there.”
