Oklahoma State University graduate Grace Baldwin has been awarded the Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship, which is a national honor given to a select few aspiring graduate students.

Established in 1932, the Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship Program provides funding to first-year graduate students who are pursuing post-baccalaureate degrees. Phi Kappa Phi Fellows, who are endorsed by their local chapters, continue their education at graduate schools across the country.

Baldwin, who earned an Honors College degree and a bachelor’s in physiology with a minor in mathematics in May 2025, is now attending the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.

When Baldwin learned she had been selected for the fellowship, she was stunned.

“I got the email and I read it and I was kind of in disbelief because it’s only a few people that get it,” Baldwin said. “I was just jumping up and down, frankly. I couldn’t believe it, but people around me had faith in me and encouraged me to apply, and I’m really glad I did.”

For Baldwin, the fellowship represents more than financial support for medical school.

“It was like recognition for myself putting myself out there and trying all these different things and being involved,” Baldwin said. “It was reassurance that it wasn’t all for just one thing.”

During her time at OSU, Baldwin balanced a full schedule of research, leadership and service. She conducted undergraduate research in Dr. Matteo Minghetti’s toxicology laboratory, studying rainbow trout gill cells, and presented her work at three research symposia, two Three-Minute Thesis competitions and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry conference in Vienna, Austria. She also served as president of the College of Arts and Sciences Student Council, secretary of Mortar Board Honor Society, a mathematics tutor in the Mathematics Learning Success Center and a volunteer in the Stillwater community.

Baldwin said her undergraduate research gave her a greater appreciation for scientific discovery, as well as a broader perspective on medicine.

“Research is such a slow process,” Baldwin said. “I think it gave me a lot more gratitude for people who are pursuing those developments because without them, medicine wouldn’t be what it is.”

Before her dive into medical school, Baldwin spent over a year working as a medical assistant and medical scribe in an Oklahoma City OB-GYN clinic. This experience let her recognize the importance of building relationships with patients and how significant listening to an individual’s experience is.

“It’s definitely better to listen and hear what their perspectives are than go in with a preconceived notion,” Baldwin said.

As she begins her medical education, Baldwin said the fellowship has given her encouragement during this new period of her life.

“It’s a boost of confidence going into medical school,” Baldwin said. “Knowing that there are people who are in your corner is really encouraging when starting something as big as medical school.”

Baldwin also credits her Christian faith for helping shape her journey.

“I believe that I would not be where I am at without God’s faithfulness in my life,” Baldwin said.

Looking toward her future, Baldwin hopes to become a third-generation physician and continue her family legacy that started with her grandfather, who was a first-generation college student from West Virginia.

She encourages current students to embrace setbacks as opportunities for growth.

“If you don’t get it the first time, there’s a reason for it, and you will grow because of it,” Baldwin said.

Story By: Mak Vandruff | makenzie.vandruff@okstate.edu