2024-2026 Voyager Scholarship - Public Service

 

Applications just opened for the 2024-2026 Voyager Scholarship, The Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, and we need your help to spread the word! Created by the Obamas and Brian Chesky, the Co-Founder and CEO of Airbnb, this scholarship program provides rising juniors in college who are planning to pursue careers in public service with financial aid, meaningful travel experiences, and a network of mentors and leaders to support them throughout their careers.  You can read more about the program here, but there’s no better way to tell you about the Voyager Scholarship than to introduce you to a few of our incredible recipients.  Read on for a taste of some of the incredible “Summer Voyages” our recipients planned and executed this past summer, then please, forward this email to any rising college juniors in your life who may benefit from this program.

For his Summer Voyage, Sydney traveled to Bonn, Germany to intern for a human rights organization, where he had the incredible opportunity to work with human rights defenders from every corner of the globe. He said that during this experience, he learned that the most important thing nonprofit organizations can do is to focus on the empowerment and support of those on the ground, instead of dictating how they do their work.  Gloria spent part of her Summer Voyage volunteering in Alajuelita, Costa Rica. While learning about the community and how they tackle health issues, she began to notice that many of the barriers to health care in Costa Rica are similar to barriers we face in the United States and around the world.  Now, Gloria aspires to be a connector for organizations globally so countries around the world facing these issues can collaborate and solve these problems.  Terra spent her Summer Voyage in Copenhagen, Denmark working with an online platform that allows low-impact fishermen to sell directly to customers. Their work supports ocean health, ensures fair pay for fishermen, and provides transparency for restaurants and individuals about where their seafood is coming from.  During her Voyage, Terra began to understand that creating sustainable fisheries is a complex and challenging task because it requires combining the interests of many different stakeholders from scientists to fishermen to policymakers to conservationists. Applications for the Voyager Scholarship for Public Service are open now through Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at 11:59 PM United States Central Time (UTC-6).