Social Work Student Awarded Gilman Scholarship to Study Abroad

Daniel Vila, a double-major in commercial music and social work, always wanted to travel more, and thanks to earning a Gilman Scholarship his wish has come true. The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is run by the U.S. Department of State and gives students with limited financial means the opportunity to study or intern in foreign countries.  

An FSU email about an information session on the scholarship program led Daniel to find out more and a one-on-one meeting with Jesse Wieland, associate director of the FSU Office of National Fellowships, to delve deeper into the opportunity.

The scholarship enables American students to gain proficiency in diverse languages, cultures and skills important to academic and career development. The scholarship program was established in 2001 and named after Benjamin Gilman, a US congressman for 30 years and former chair of the House of Foreign Relations Committee, and has supported more than 28,000 students.

“What’s really great about the Gilman scholarship is that it’s adaptable to the students’ interests and their research allowing them to align with internships, studies or other cultural exchange opportunities,” said Wieland.

Thanks to the Gilman scholarship, Daniel and more than a dozen other FSU students are able to study and intern abroad. This summer, Daniel is in Prague, Czech Republic for the social work Prague Study Abroad Program focused on human rights.

When first coming to FSU, his passion for music led him to the FSU College of Music and a major in commercial music, with courses focused on sound engineering, production and business. With the onset of the pandemic and virtual classes, Daniel decided to relocate to Atlanta, Georgia. “I wanted to be in a larger, livelier city. My time there showed me that the connections between music, people, culture, food and service are more intimate and essential than I realized,” he recalled.

The pandemic also brought his attention to disparities and inequities in the US and worldwide, which piqued his curiosity. With the progress toward his music degree well in hand, Daniel described his search for additional courses that “focused on making change and service,” courses he would find in social work.

Starting a second major during the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge as everyone adapted to the isolation and engagement with coursework and classmates in a virtual world, but Daniel quickly tapped into the energy of his social work professors and peers.

“By the end of my first semester in the program, I was really engaged in most of my coursework and started talking to professors outside of class time to get to know them and the field better,” he emphasized. “It’s been very inspiring and empowering to work with such an accomplished and passionate cohort of students and professors.”

When classes reconvened in person, Daniel felt reaffirmed in his decision to take on a double major. A study abroad experience seemed an important and natural step in his quest to better understand human rights from a multitude of different perspectives, as both a social worker and artist. His saxophone in tow, he made his way to Prague this summer to focus not only on the political, economic, and societal effects of human rights legislation and violations but also on Prague's music scene.

Daniel’s experiences abroad will tie well into his interest in working with refugee and migrant populations along with those involved in the criminal justice system. “My life has been personally shaped by both of these, especially concerning resettlement and accessing resources. I would be honored to work with these populations in the future,” he professed. He was recently accepted into the Teach for America corps and will be teaching in special education in Hawaii in 2023.