Spoon River College welcomes Kim Gillespie as a new full-time faculty member. She previously taught part-time at the college and will be teaching anatomy and physiology.
Originally from northern Illinois, Gillespie earned her associate degree at Sauk Valley Community College before transferring to Western Illinois University, where she received both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in biology.
“I got hooked on teaching as a grad student at WIU and I loved it. Preparing labs, breaking down complicated topics into smaller pieces, everything,” said Gillespie. “I like to instill my love of biology to others.”
Gillespie is passionate about her discipline, and it was while she was a grad student that she found the area of biology that excited her the most. “My focus was parasites found in fish. I dissected over 200 bluegill and counted each of their parasites. Being able to get in there and get your hands dirty is awesome! I’m big on dissections, so A & P is perfect for me!”
Gillespie is also passionate about community colleges. “I wasn’t ready to move away from home. I loved going to a community college, where students can really interact with their instructors. Sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle when you have a roster that’s 200 students long.”
“I’m happy to be back at Spoon River College. I’ve had some really great professors since I’ve been in school, and my hope is that my students will think the same about me.”
Gillespie and her husband Neil currently reside at the Kibbe Field Station in Warsaw (a research facility associated with WIU that her husband manages), along with their 2 ½ year-old son Tom and their pets, “an old black lab named Murphy and a new golden doodle puppy named Molly. They keep me on my toes!”
