ITS Recipient Update

Each year, the National Register’s Internship Travel Scholarship (ITS) helps ease the financial burden of students relocating for internship by providing $1,000 toward travel and moving costs. To better understand the impact of your support, we interviewed Shruti Kinkel-Ram, a 2024 ITS recipient, about her experience at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. Read what Shruti had to say!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to be a psychologist? As a kid I moved around to different countries and was constantly meeting new people in new environments. I remember very early on noticing and being interested in what makes people tick. Later on, as an undergraduate student, I had the opportunity to be part of a research study and knew I wanted to get more training. It’s a privilege to be able to pursue the education I want in a field that really centers people. My grandmothers didn’t have that opportunity. They were so smart–but unable to complete their education past the 7th grade. 

Tell us about your internship at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital and why this work is important to you. My internship at UPMC allowed me to build on my research and clinical training on eating disorders and suicide risk management that I developed in graduate school, and work with individuals across the lifespan. Often these experiences can be limited in graduate training and beyond, and I want to dispel the myths and misconceptions related to them and advocate through my research.

What are some of your big takeaways from your internship experience? I have learned from and with so many brilliant clinicians and researchers. I recently looked back at my cover letter and saw that I have gotten every single one of the experiences I was hoping for! Plus, everyone is so nice and it feels like a big family. In our conference room, there are photos of every class that has ever passed through the program. Now there’s mine! 

Where do you see yourself in five years, and how did this internship help you get closer to that goal?  I enjoyed UPMC so much that I am staying for my post doc! I’m applying for a research grant with my mentor who was one of the training directors in my internship program. 

Why do you think it’s important to invest in students through the Next Generation Fund? We work so hard and the program is so long. Internship feels like the last hurdle we have to get through and there’s so much anxiety around the transition. The scholarship helps ease that anxiety and makes space for us to be excited about contributing to the field. 

If you could thank donors directly, what would you say? You don’t often know how your money makes an impact or with whom, so let me personally tell you I am SO thankful for the scholarship. I was excited to match but there were so many logistical and financial challenges in moving from Ohio to Pennsylvania. Our field is so much about helping other people and sometimes we need help too! I really lucked out with this scholarship. It gave me the boost I needed and I don’t know what I would have done without it.

We offer our sincere thanks to Shruti for sharing her story with us. Join us in helping students alleviate some of their financial stress by donating to the Next Generation Fund today.