Scholarship and Enrichment in Europe as a Gilman Scholar

…Or that time I went to Brussels to learn more about the European Union and met some absolutely fantastic people!

So this post is going to be a bit different than my other ones in a lot of ways. Rather than being a testament of the DIS experience and the fun and fulfilling learning environment its various classes offer, I want to dedicate a part of this blog to an opportunity that anyone wanting to study in Europe should take advantage of.

Brussels Zaventem Airport

The view outside the Brussels Schuman metro stop

The (main) European Commission Building, right next to the Schuman metro

Sunday, November 19 – arrival day

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is a US Department of State-managed fund for students who receive the Pell Grant and want to take their learning to the international stage. Though it offers various perks beyond scholarship money (such as possible non-competitive eligibility for federal jobs), above all else it offers a chance to even go beyond your study abroad curriculum.

The European External Action Service is the foreign outreach wing of the EU

Station Europe, a former train station now incorporated into the European Parliament complex

View of the Parlamentarium, a museum showing the roots and development of the EU

Though far from home, the Ukrainian Civil Society Hub hosts us with turkey sandwiches

Monday, 20 November

The Gilman Brussels Study Tour is a three-day long initiative co-sponsored by the US State Department and the European External Action Service aimed at promoting awareness of the European Union and what its various institutions do to build stronger citizen diplomacy between the two unions. Hosting over 30 American scholars in Europe, this program also builds a strong community of avid travelers from all walks of life and fields of study, united only in their status as Gilman scholars.

Entrance into the European Commission Conference Center

Inside the conference center, where our cohort sits in the same seats that make decisions

Model of the European Parliament complex, as seen inside the Hemicycle museum

Me, standing atop the visitor’s gallery that overlooks the Hemicycle, the actual parliament

Tuesday, November 21

As a study tour, this experience drove all of us through a gauntlet of educational lectures and networking opportunities, beginning with a series of guest presentations on educational and scholarship avenues that we can take in Europe and ending with a Q&A session with the deputy chief of the US’s diplomatic office in the EU. During this period, we visited the aforementioned EEAS, the Parlamentarium museum, the European Commission, and the European Council, among other areas scattered around Brussels.

Inside of a Belgian metro train

Yet as an opportunity to explore more of Europe, we were allowed to wander around ourselves to see what the capital of Belgium and the main center of the EU had to offer, and in such cases it did not take long for small tour groups to form themselves up to go together to such attractions as De Grote Markt, the Atomium, the Manneken Pis statue, and many more. As such exploring builds an appetite, these groups would naturally stick together to break bread and get to know more about one another; sometimes, another group would join in and bring ever more energy to the feast!

…while I may not have taken any pictures of our group dinners or our collective exploits to the city attractions, I do have something a bit more…different from the experiences of the other scholars. Behold: some photos of Rotterdam, Netherlands!

Until next post, safe travels everyone!