By Doughlas Gutierrez
School of Social Work
A University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work student was recognized by a national organization for his commitment to native excellence and leadership on and off campus.
Native Forward Scholars Fund, the largest direct provider of scholarships to Native students, announced in June the two winners of the 2023 Students of the Year Award during its annual Empowering Scholars Summit at the University of North Carolina campus in Pembroke, North Carolina.
UTA Master of Social Work student Stephen Silva-Brave received one of the two Student of the Year Awards given out by the Native Forward Scholars Fund. The second awardee was Breckin Horton, a fourth-year medical student at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York.
Silva-Brave was recognized for his many contributions, including his research on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Intimate Partner Violence against Indigenous Women, and using Land Acknowledgements to retrieve back land for victims.
“I knew that Native Forward helped a lot of students each year, but I didn't realize how big of an honor it was to receive this award until I was at the summit, and I met 40 of the students,” Stephen Silva-Brave said.
Not only is Silva-Brave active in the community, he currently holds a 4.0 GPA as an MSW student, while also taking PhD courses at UTA.
“There were students from OU, Yale, Cornell, and many other top universities. Yet, somehow, I was a winner,” Silva-Brave said.
Stephen was recently a special guest on Blaze the Mic, a UTA School of Social Work podcast platform where social work students have conversations about their career and academic goals within the school’s top ranked Bachelor of Social Work and MSW programs.
The sixth podcast episode takes a deep dive into Silva-Brave’s research on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and how his cultural roots fuel his passion for Native/Indigenous advocacy. You can stream the episode on Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, PlayerFM, Podbean, Apple and SSW's Podcasts webpage. You can also click the link below to our Podbean website: https://sswblazethemic.podbean.com/
“This win was not just a win for me, but it was a win for Social Work and a win for the UTA School of Social Work. I hope this win will help put UTA on the map as a place where Native students can attend and thrive,” Silva-Brave said.
Native Forward Scholars Fund’s Empowering Scholars Summit is held once a year in North Carolina.