Corey Linton left Year 12 unsure of his future, only knowing he had a passion for helping people, an interest in food and an offer to study a Bachelor of Dietetics at UniSC. 

However, his undergraduate studies unlocked a passion for learning, which has led him to further investigate the crossover between elite sports nutrition and nutrition for healthy ageing through research and study.

Corey now has this piece of advice for Year 12 students who might be in a similar situation to what he was at the end of high school. 

"If you just stick at it, there comes a time where you find those subjects that are your niche and you can really flourish," he says. 

"I was very lucky to finish with a research placement and fell in love with it and saw the opportunities that came from it." 

One of those opportunities was participating in an OzHarvest cookbook collaboration, where he played a vital role in testing recipes that could be easily made from donated food. 

OzHarvest Sunshine Coast Chapter Coordinator Michele Lipner said that collaborative research with UniSC identified a need for a resource – such as a cookbook – that people could use to help prepare meals on a budget. 

“Since 2017, we’ve had UniSC students doing work placements with us, which has included undertaking needs assessments, recipe testing, and helping draft text for our cookbook,” Michele said.

“Their help has been invaluable.”  

Dietetics lecturer Angela Cleary said the project benefited students like Corey because it involved hands-on learning and working with people that the cookbook aimed to help. 

"We had identified that many of the people who received the OzHarvest produce were homeless. So the students had to think about them not having a fridge ... they might use the free barbeques, for example." 

“The cookbook addresses food insecurity within the community by providing recipients with the basic skills of how to store, cook and get the most out of the produce they receive from OzHarvest," she said. 

The cookbook was recently released after successfully involving students in a project that benefited the wider community.