From the Navy to nutrition

After a career in the Royal Navy, Hanaa Metcalfe chose to study Dietetics at the University of Plymouth

2 June 2025

Hanaa Metcalfe joined the Royal Navy aged 18 with ambitions of one day pursuing higher education.

While succeeding as a warfare specialist, her determination for further study saw her complete an access course on board ship – despite having little to no internet access.

She chose to leave the Navy and study Dietetics after considerable research and realising it spoke to everything she felt passionate about: fitness, nutrition and helping others.

Now she has a platform to share her ongoing study journey, and hopes to inspire as many people as possible.

I didn’t know if university would ever be an option for me because I don’t have an affluent background, and I don’t know many other people who went. But education is so important, and it always stuck with me that I could do it one day.

The Royal Navy is a fantastic career option, so I went in aged 18 and trained as a warfare specialist, spending a lot of time on board ship. As you can imagine, I did a lot of travelling, boosted my confidence and thrived in high-pressure situations.

I knew I wanted to pursue higher education one day, so about seven years in I did an access course, studying on board. My working pattern was six hours on, six hours off, which had to include sleep, so I fitted everything within a short space of time, using mostly textbooks rather than online resources as I didn’t have much internet access.

I looked around and dietetics seemed like the perfect course for me. Doing what I can to help others lead healthy lives regarding fitness and nutrition has always been really important to me.

The Navy gave me some incredible opportunities, and without realising it, a move to dietetics is what I’ve always wanted to do.

I’d spent time in Plymouth for work and loved it, so when I saw that the course there was highly rated, I applied and fortunately got in.

It’s been a rollercoaster but lots of skills I learned in the Navy – resilience, timekeeping, confidence – have certainly come in handy.

Looking to the future

Hanaa’s success saw her shortlisted for the Career Changer of the Year prize in the Undergraduate of the Year awards, run by careers hub, targetjobs.

She also won £1,000 from Santander after successfully pitching a business idea to improve NHS waiting times for weight management appointments, thanks to taking part in a competition run by The Cube , the University of Plymouth’s in-house entrepreneurship service.

Going forward, she hopes her whole journey will inspire others into healthy lifestyles, while combatting misinformation on social media.

“I’ve created the Instagram @the_wannabe_dietitian to share my student journey, while highlighting the importance of diet and wellbeing.

I’m very clear that I’m not yet qualified and always signpost to the best available sources and evidence if anyone reaches out for advice.

But I’m a huge advocate for education and want people to be equipped with the most relevant information to help them avoid disease, and live happy healthy lives. If I can help to combat some of the misinformation out there, then that’s a big win.

Long-term I’m certainly interested in neonatal care and I’ve also developed an unlikely interest in the kidneys, so who knows?!

But I do know I want to help and support as many people as I can – whether that’s people in need of nutritional support, or people who might need a bit of encouragement to realise that uni can absolutely be for them.

I feel like I belong here, and can’t wait for what comes next.

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