It’s time for another 5 Minutes with a Northwest Arkansas Mom interview, which is one of our favorite features on Motherlode. We’ve been interviewing local moms for 11 years now!
Today we’ve got a great Q&A with Jenn Clampitt to share. Everyone, meet Jenn (and say hi if you see her around town):
Kids’ names and ages: One child, a daughter, Forrest (13)
Where do you live and what brought you to NWA?
I live in Fayetteville. My mom moved here when I was in my 20s and I moved to be closer to her. I am actually a Connecticut Yankee as I spent most of childhood there, but part Texan since I spent several years of my preteen and teens there as well.
How would you describe your family’s “personality”?
Silly, down-to-earth, old-fashioned, grounded, love the Lord
Tell us about your daughter:
Forrest is a 7th grader at Haas Hall. She loves to read, she writes short stories (tons of them), sings in the University of Arkansas Children’s Choir and plays handbells and sings in the church youth choir. She plays the piano. She used to play tennis and may get back into it, she says. She is an old soul, very introspective, wise and tenderhearted like her daddy.
Tell us about your work:
I am the Registered Dietitian Weight Management Coordinator with Mercy Bariatric Surgery Center in Rogers. I educate patients on how to prepare for bariatric weight loss surgery.
After surgery, I help them to stay on track with their nutritional needs and encourage them in their weight loss and nutrition-related health goals for as long as they want to come see me.
Becoming a dietitian was a dream of mine. I wanted to combine my love for nutrition as a science with my desire to help others. I always wanted to be in the healthcare field in some capacity. It is a perfect fit for me. I really enjoy the process of seeing people along their journeys and building relationships with them.
Where are your family’s favorite places to play in the area?
We like to go to Pea Ridge and walk or hike. We also really like to go to the movies. We like to go to Razorback volleyball and women’s soccer when we can get there as well.
Tell us about a typical day in your life:
I get up at 5:45 am. Getting my daughter up is a challenge, but she gets herself ready now. We have a little thing where I cut an apple in half and take part of it to work and part of it I cut up and put in her lunch.
I am on the road to Rogers by 6:45 am. I am thankful that my husband, Todd, drops our daughter at school. I arrive at work by 7:30 am and work in my clinic all day. Some days I see patients as office visits all day and some days I do group patient education. Some days I do both and visit patients after surgery in the hospital (those days are a bear).
I try to make supper every night, but with activities it does not always happen. I just got an instant pot type cooker so that helps. My daughter has also learned to cook a lot of meals. I have many places to be in the evenings (my voice and piano lessons, my daughter’s choir).
When I have a musical I am involved in I go from Rogers out to Drake Field to practice until 9 pm most nights. I usually fit in exercise on my lunch time (if I get one) with a walk close to work or when I get home I dance around the living room. I have a peddle machine under my desk that I use between clients or when I am writing up charts.
What’s something your daughter asks you to cook over and over again?
My daughter loves salmon. She also loves it when I make a rice dish similar to Jambalaya so sometimes I combine the two. She is learning to make many of these favorites herself, too.
What are your favorite hobbies?
I love music so I took up musical theater in fall of 2017. I have performed in four shows with Pilot Arts in Fayetteville. I take voice lessons and piano as well. I also love to cook. I just do not have as much time to be creative with it as I used to have. I am not a crafts person, so I have to do something else as my creative outlet. My sisters and mom got those skills and they are amazingly talented at it. [The pic below is of Jenn on stage during the Tuck Everlasting show. She was a carnie, a balloon seller]
What would your best friends say you can’t live without?
Ice water. I love my water, but it has to be cold.
What’s something you’d love to do again?
My daughter and I traveled to Ireland last year and I would love to go again or any more travel overseas with her. My husband is not much of a traveler.
Where’s your happy place when the going gets tough?
I just like to go for a drive and listen to music. I will settle for a walk and listening to music, too. Music just lift my spirits. I find it difficult to be stressed when I am singing an uplifting tune.
Who do you most admire? Why?
I am going to say my daughter. I have never known anyone else who tries harder than she does at everything. She is a brush-yourself-off-and-try-again kind of girl. It amazes me sometimes. I admire that trait in anyone.
What do you most want people to remember about you?
I want them to remember that I was always growing, changing and improving to be in service to others.
I started school in 2012 and got my Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and did a dietetic internship straight through all after I turned 44. I did not start musical theater until 49. I want people to know that if I can go after my dreams later in life then they can do it too no matter what stage of life.
One word to sum me up:
Dynamic
