Photo by Dillon Minshall, Director of Graphic Design at Iowa State Football Katie Ahlers, a 2016 St. Edmond graduate, is shown here working for the Iowa State football program at Jack Trice Stadium. Ahlers recently accepted a position with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams.

Katie Ahlers recently landed in California for the first time ever, ready for the fast-paced life of professional football in America’s second-largest city.

It’s a completely new adventure for Ahlers, a 2016 St. Edmond graduate who had never even visited Los Angeles until last month. Now, the former member of the Iowa State Cyclones’ football family has both the competence and confidence to hit the ground running as a performance nutrition fellow with the NFL’s 2022 Super Bowl champion Rams.

Ahlers’ first official day on the job was last Friday.

“For the most part, I will be working with the team’s head dietitian to continue to implement proper fueling practices for each of the individuals in our organization,” Ahlers said of her responsibilties with the Rams. “This will include personalized nutrition plans, personalized supplementation, hydration monitoring…all of that super fun stuff. I’ll also be working to help further develop injury protocol in regards to nutrition and help with development of new nutrition initiatives as we go.

“I don’t know exactly what those will be yet, but — in my opinion — that’s the cool thing about nutrition. It’s a science and it’s always changing. So what we know to be true can kind of change from day-to-day. I’ll be a part of game days, which I’m excited for, but I think the most exciting thing to me is getting to be part of the day-to-day activities that cultivate the biggest changes.”

Ahlers joined the Iowa State football program during the winter months of 2020 as a performance nutrition student intern. She spent both the 2021 and ’22 seasons working for ISU’s director of football nutrition, Rachel Voet.

The 24-year-old Ahlers, who graduated with a degree in dietetics, was scrolling through job listings in December when she noticed an opening with the Rams organization.

“I’m a member of a group called CPSDA (Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitian Association), and they have a job board where they post opportunities related to sports,” Ahlers said. “I saw the posting the day that it was made public, and thought I might as well throw my hat in the ring.

“It’s been quite a whirlwind as far as how quickly things have been moving. But everyone I’ve met out in Los Angeles so far has been absolutely incredible and so, so welcoming. I could not have asked for a better hiring experience.”

Ahlers will know more about the specifics of the job once she gets settled in.

“There will be a lot more that I’ll get to be a part of, but I think it’s going to take me getting my feet on the ground in the facility before I’m able to fully grasp the entirety of what I get to do every day,” Ahlers said. “This is going to be a whole new world for me as I make the transition from collegiate athletics to professional athletics. From how it’s been explained to me, it’s kind of like three seasons: off-season, training camp, and in-season. With each, I’m sure things will be done a little bit differently.”

Ahlers is now over 1,700 miles from home, but she will never forget her time with the Cyclones. It laid the foundation for the professional — and individual — she will be in the years to come.

“I feel like I could write a novel about it,” Ahlers said. “Plain and simple, I would not be the person or dietitian that I am today had it not been for that organization. I met some of my best friends, biggest mentors, and favorite people there. It really was like a family. It set the standard for the work environment I was looking to be a part of extremely high — something that I was sure to look for and know that I’ve found in the Los Angeles Rams as well.

“I still talk to so many people from that building and they were instrumental, not only in walking me through the job hunt and hiring process, but also just in continuing to support me and help me to believe in myself and my abilities. I walked into the Iowa State football program as a 21-year-old dietetics student full of nerves and confusion and I walked out two years later as a confident, equipped professional. Those people and that program built me into who I am, and I could never thank them enough. Jack Trice and that program will always have a piece of my heart. I will always be a Cyclone at my core, but could not be more excited for my future as a Ram.”