(Picture included because this was lowkey how I was feeling like when I got that interview request)
Hello! My name is Kiley, and I am a sophomore at Florida State University. I am also a member of the 2026 Global Scholars Cohort, and I will be using this blog to document my journey through my capstone project and my summer experience.
When I first applied to the Global Scholars Program, I did it on an absolute whim! I honestly did not believe that I would get into the program because I had just been rejected from the Social Science Scholars Program, and I did not believe I had many good qualifications to get into this program. All of the blogs I had read from past Global Scholars to get a good view of what the program was like seemed like they were written by very experienced students with a clear path on what they would be doing. I thought I had no chance, but I still wanted to apply to the program because I appreciated the program’s focus on students serving their community while also learning important tenets of ethical research.
And boom! Here I am months out from that, and I am one of those global scholars writing a blog about to embark on my summer journey! I really could not have imagined being selected into a program like this, and I am grateful to the selection team for seeing me!
Unlike many of my peers, I will be staying in the States for my project. I have received and completed an interview for the program that I really want to be a part of. I am a bit apprehensive about saying the name of the program just in case the selection team is looking up my name, and they see me speaking about this as if I have already received it, but I will know for certain by the end of this month if I have gotten it. For my capstone project, I will be researching the challenges that female union organizers face in labor organizing for female-dominated professions. I will be interviewing female organizers in these female-dominated unions to get a sense of their lived experiences as women in an advocacy position that is associated with male occupations. I believe that this embodies the tenets of global scholarship because these women serve their fellow workers in ways that is monumental to the history of this country, and I feel like working with them through my capstone and my experience will show me what is means to serve.
I chose my CBI of female union organizers because of my family history. My mom is no longer involved in unions, but she spent a short time as a union representative for her local nurses union. I know the reasons she is not involved anymore, however, I want to see how many other female organizers in female dominated professions feel the same way. This topic is not heavily research, and it has been so interesting to me it actually caused me to add a second major in Sociology so I can pursue an Honors in the Major thesis on this in the future. For now, I believe structuring my capstone around it is a good way to begin the starting point for this research project.
If I get the summer experience I want, I will be helping a female dominated union with recruitment and organizing. I really hope I get it, and I am very excited because it really is such a great experience to help experienced organizers with things like this. However, I am a bit apprehensive because it is going to be a lot of responsibility. For example, they said I may have to drive to members houses to speak with them about joining and that is a huge responsibility for me. I am excited to get the experience though, and I think it will be a great opportunity.
I will be placed in a different state in the USA, and I am very excited about that as well. There is not much cultural differences between the states, but I hope to find little things that I do not expect!
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