Dr. Kim Germain and the Office of External Fellowships

Dr. Kimberly Germain, the Director of the Office of External Fellowships, is in her first full academic year at UIC, but she has already been able to accomplish so much. The Office of External Fellowships collectively provides advising and assistance to both current undergraduate students at UIC and alumni in identifying and applying to fellowships, scholarships and grants. Pursuing this type of position was not something Dr. Germain imagined during her undergraduate studies; however, it was ultimately her love for teaching, the ability to work directly with students, and the ability to interact with research in a novel and innovative manner that led her to pursue this career path.

At first sight, Dr. Germain’s responsibilities may seem to deal solely with external fellowships. However, Dr. Germain revealed that her position is one constituted of three layers. The first layer of her position consists of working one-on-one with students and sharing with them all of the external fellowship opportunities, conducting presentations on external fellowship opportunities in small and large class settings, and working with students on applications for these external fellowships. Although working one-on-one with students on applications for these fellowships may get pretty intense, it allows Dr. Germain to be able to build relationships with students and engage with them in a longitudinal manner. The second layer of her position involves identifying and nominating students on behalf of UIC for certain external fellowships. The third layer involves communicating with the foundations that are providing students with these external fellowships and scholarships.

Dr. Germain revealed that the opportunity to meet with UIC students is her favorite part of the job. “The more UIC students I meet, the happier I am to be here,” she said. She would like to encourage more students to engage with the Office of External Fellowships in order to work towards expanding the number of students who participate in these programs. Having more students take advantage of these opportunities not only increases awareness of the External Fellowship opportunities, but also reaffirms that the array of opportunities offered are within reach. There are also a range of post – baccalaureate programs, summer intensive programs, and critical language programs offered, and these opportunities are available for both current undergraduate students and alumni. Ultimately, Dr. Germain wants to encourage students to “embrace and immerse themselves in their curiosity” and believes to a great extent that pursuing the scholarships and fellowships offered through the OEF will provide students with the opportunity to do just that.