Fantastic Voyage: Three Eagles land Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship
A trio of 麻豆传媒 students with a passion for public service have won the prestigious 2024鈥26 Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship.听
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Felicity Chapman, SOC/BA 鈥26; Melia Hawthorne Klingler, SIS/BA 鈥26; and Denia Smith, SPA/BA 鈥25, (pictured from left) will receive up to $50,000 in financial aid to complete their degrees. In addition to tuition assistance, the scholarship鈥攅stablished with a $100 million gift from Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky to the Obama Foundation鈥攊ncludes a $10,000 travel stipend for a summer experiential learning opportunity anywhere in the world and $2,000 in Airbnb credits for 10 years after graduation. Voyagers also have access to a network of global leaders.听
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The 2023鈥25 cohort, which just returned from their summer voyages, explored 63 countries and 23 US states and territories.听
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Sociology major Faith Massey, SOC/BA 鈥25鈥攚ho also received a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship to spend this past summer at Harvard University鈥攚on the Voyager Scholarship last year. Edwin Santos, SPA/BA 鈥24, MPA 鈥25, was named to the inaugural cohort in 2022.
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鈥淭he Voyager Scholarship is for young students who have already demonstrated a commitment to the welfare of their communities and have an expansive view of public service and all it can accomplish,鈥 said Paula Warrick, senior director of AU鈥檚 Office of Merit Awards (OMA). 鈥淚 think our success in this competition is a reflection of our ability to attract and nurture students with that level of experience and vision.鈥
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Warrick credits OMA associate director Christopher Swanson and assistant director Lori Felton 鈥渇or recognizing what an amazing opportunity this was when the scholarship was first created in 2022. They quickly developed a Canvas site to guide our applicants and procedures for mentoring candidates.鈥
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This year, at least two of AU鈥檚 applicants also received assistance from OMA鈥檚 Graduate Advising Fellows: Matthew Templeton and Catherine Falvey, both doctoral students in economics. 听
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The third cohort of Voyagers includes 100 students representing 35 states and territories and 60 colleges and universities across the US.听
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鈥淭he past two cohorts have shown tremendous passion, curiosity, and collaboration鈥攁ll while working hard across their college campuses,鈥 former president Barack Obama said in 鈥淭oday, as we welcome our third cohort of Voyagers, I鈥檓 more hopeful than ever that our future is in good hands.鈥
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Meet AU鈥檚 Voyagers here:
Felicity Chapman
Public relations and strategic communications major
Rye, New York听
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鈥淎s a Voyager I hope to connect with prominent disability advocates across the globe with the goal of expanding my understanding of disability representation in education in order to empower disabled youth.鈥
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Melia Hawthorne Klingler
International studies major
Tucson, Arizona听
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鈥淚 plan on using my award to . . . understand the people who adhere to Christian nationalism and see how to engage with them through inter-and-intra-faith dialogue. I want to use the interfaith dialogue skills I've developed at AU to combat Christian nationalism through relationship building and productive conversation.鈥
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Denia Smith
Political science major
Belle Mead, New Jersey听
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鈥淭o be selected as a Voyager is nothing short of a blessing. I'm immensely grateful and excited to connect with the phenomenal leaders at the Obama Foundation and to use this opportunity to further catapult my journey in public service. I'm also eager to embark on my summer voyage, where I hope to explore the roles of government institutions in partnership with grassroots organizations to advance racial and gender equity for young women and girls of color.鈥澨