Undergraduate Alumni
I graduated with a B.A. in French + Criminology, Law, & Justice. My UIC French experience taught me how to appreciate French culture while also learning how to overcome obstacles, how to develop critical thinking skills, and how to communicate effectively.
| Attorney, Chicago
I graduated with a B.A. in French and English and am now pursuing doctoral research at Columbia University that focuses on the intersections of language, translation, and space in African Francophone and Caribbean literature– all interests rooted in discoveries I made while double-majoring at UIC.
| French Translator and PhD Candidate, NYC
I graduated with a B.A./B.S. in French and Computer Sciences. I now work in tech consulting for a multinational corporation headquartered in London. Although my career is very technical, I have found my studies in French to be very helpful during the interview process– many recruiters explicitly recognize that my second major and language skills gave me a wider, more global perspective.
| Software Engineer, Chicago
While pursuing my B.A. in French at UIC, I volunteered as a French translator for NPH USA, a local nonprofit which sponsors orphans in Haiti. I am currently enrolled at the George Washington University School of Law, where I study International Human Rights Law and get to use my French.
| J.D. Candidate, George Washington University
I graduated with a B.A. in English, minoring in French and Management Information Systems. Now, I’m pursuing my Master’s in Library and Information Science at UIUC.
| M.S. LIS Student, Univ of Illinois-Champaign
While completing my Bachelor’s in Applied Psychology and French, I got to do a UIC faculty-led social services internship in Paris. I now work at Heartland Alliance, where I get to use my French, while I am also pursuing my MSW (Master’s of Social work) at UIC.
| Family Reunification Specialist, Chicago
UIC French alumni success stories
See what UIC’s French undergraduate alumni are up to, including double majors and minors.
Laurie Liberius
Laurie Liberius, B.A. French, is now a graduate student in our M.A. French program at UIC.
Julian Wrobel
Julian Wrobel, B.A. French, is currently an assistant de langue in Beauvais, France in the government’s TAPIF program.
Lorena Gonzalez
Lorena Gonzalez, B.A. Biological Sciences with a French minor, went on to serve in Burkina Faso as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching science in French. She is now the Director of Institutional Giving at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights.
Click here to read more from Lorena.
Temi Sodipe
Temi Sodipe, a Public Health major, used her French minor to conduct interviews with local experts on FGM/C in Paris and Chicago in order to integrate new best practices and identify new recommendations. She graduated in 2023 and plans to pursue medical school.
Elma Abdulbaki
Elma Abdulbaki, B.A. French and Francophone Studies, is currently pursuing her PharmD degree at UIC College of Pharmacy.
Click here to read more from Elma.
Kelly Tounou
Kelly Tounou, a Public Health major with a French minor, is an Americorps member at Rush Hospital in Chicago.
Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson, a French and Economics double major, is currently teaching English in French Guyana with TAPIF.
Ryan Hearty
Ryan Hearty, an Economics major with a French minor, works as business development manager for Blackberry.
Mary Claire Murphy
Mary Claire Murphy, a French and Sociology double major, works in hospitality in Chicago at The Gwen, a luxury collection hotel.
Caelye McAndrew
Caelye McAndrew, a biology major with a French minor, is currently teaching English in Rouen, France with TAPIF.
Bradley Grochocinski
Bradley Grochocinski, B.A. French and Anthropology, went on to study international business and is now a bilingual product manager for a software company.
Charles Lafon
Charles Lafon, an architecture major with a French minor, is pursuing his Master of Architecture at the University of Southern California.
Zebulon Hurst
Zebulon Hurst, B.A. French and Francophone Studies, is a multi-disciplinary artist and scholar. He is currently an education coordinator in Evanston.
Ellie Brannaman
Ellie Brannaman, B.A. French and Francophone Studies, is a relationship banker with JP Morgan.
Sofia Diaz
Sofia Diaz, who majored in Communications with a French minor, is now a Registered Client Service Associate at Morgan Stanley.
Susy Lopez
Susy Lopez, B.A. in Teaching of French, taught with the TAPIF program in France. She now is a French teacher in the Chicago area.
Nicole Ogbuagu
Nicole Ogbuagu, B.S. Neuroscience with a French minor, is now a research specialist with UChicago Medicine.
David Degooyer
David Degooyer, B.A. French and Communications, is now an Exam Development Associate for the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists.
Suzanne Oskouie
Suzanne Oskouie, B.S. in Neuroscience and B.A. in French, received a Fulbright Research Grant to study neural progenitor cell migration and differentiation at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. She is now a M.D. and fellow at University of Arizona.
Miguel Garcia
Miguel Garcia, a Biology major and French minor, went on to pursue graduate studies at the University of Chester in England. He is now a Clinical Trial Associate with Labcorp.
Citlaly Herrera
Citlaly Herrera double majored in French and Spanish, concentrating in linguistics. She is currently a Visiting Lecturer in the Spanish department at UIC.
Dayana (Salazar) Lopez
Dayana Lopez, BA and MA in French at UIC, lives in the Chicagoland area and teaches college French classes and does French and Spanish translation over the summer.
Abigail Suleman
Abigail Suleman double majored in French and Chemistry at UIC and went on to pursue her Master of Public Health. She is a sexual and reproductive health advocate and currently researches adolescents with UW-Madison’s Department of Pediatrics.
Alefiyah Shikari
Alefiyah Shikari got her BA in the Teaching of French. She went on to receive her M.Ed and work in higher education.
Click here to read more from Alefiyah.
Vanessa Ruiz
Vanessa Ruiz, after majoring in the Teaching of French, now works in the non-profit sector in education.
Clare (Gorman) Stopher
Clare Stopher, BA French, is now working as a recruiter in the life sciences industry.
Rafael Olague
Rafael Olague, BA in French, is trilingual and is now a local Spanish teacher.
Eliza Apavaloaiei
Eliza Apavaloaiei graduated May 2024 with a BA in Political Science and Economics.
Rica Lopez
Rica Lopez graduated May 2024 with a BA in French.