SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador 2022: Stony Brook – Sotiria Everett

Sotiria Everett, EdD, RD, CDN, CSSD is a Registered Dietitian and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine’s Nutrition Division at Stony Brook University. She teaches several core and concentration courses in the online MS in Nutrition Graduate program and advises students who are matriculated in the program.

She serves as a preceptor for the department’s dietetic internship, mentoring students who are on the path to become registered dietitians. Dr. Everett has also taught nutrition courses for the School of Dental Medicine and nutrition classes in the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook. As an RD who is Board Certified in Sports Dietetics, she counsels student athletes at Stony Brook, supporting them in optimal nutrition strategies to maximize their athletic performance.

Dr. Everett is active in the professional associations in her field. She serves as Corresponding Secretary for the Long Island Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (LIAND), a member of the Collegiate & Professional Sports Dietitian’s Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In 2021 she won the “Excellence in Practice Registered Dietitian Award” from LIAND. Dr. Everett received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Microbiology, with a Minor in Modern Greek from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, a Master’s of Science degree in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Doctoral degree in Nutrition Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

While I have been teaching online since 2013, several years before the ’virtual’ environment became the norm, I always seek to improve not only how I educate my students through an online platform, but how I communicate with them. When teaching asynchronous courses online, I learned quickly how important it is to provide clear instructions and details on course materials for the students to understand what is expected of them. Beyond that, I have found it very valuable to check-in with my students over a brief zoom session or phone call, once a semester to review their progress on important assignments and understanding of the course content. Students in our program come from different educational and career backgrounds, with different levels of knowledge. These real-time meetings provide an opportunity for enhanced communication and clarity, particularly for students who are new to the nutrition field. I have also recognized that group work among students has been an effective tool for online learning. Utilizing discussion boards, wikis and shared google docs has encouraged collaborative learning and development of communication skills.