Are you a citizen of the United States of America? Are you a student who is passionate about helping others?
Do you have experience in community service and building a community?
Are you curious about the world and desire to elicit positive change in it? The Obama Foundation is looking out for people like you to be awarded the Voyager Scholarship.
OVERVIEW OF THE VOYAGER SCHOLARSHIP
The Voyager Scholarship: Obama-Chesky The Voyager Scholarship is administered by the Obama Foundation.
This scholarship was created by the Obamas in alliance with Chesky Brain, the CEO and co-founder of Airbnb.
This scholarship is open to all students who are entering their junior year of college at any four-year accredited institution or college in the United States.
These students must be permanent residents of the United States or recipients of DACA; they must demonstrate financial need.
Like many other scholarships, the Voyager Scholarship aids college students financially to avoid the accumulation of college debt.
The scholarships also provide avenues for students to broaden their horizons, obtain meaningful experiences on their travels,, and become acquainted with several leaders and mentors to support them.
This scholarship is awarded to students, irrespective of their backgrounds. The Voyager scholarships were created through the $100 million contribution of Brain Chesky.
According to Obama, the foundation is seeking young people from any part of the country who are determined to be future change-makers.
These determined individuals, whom Obama says are future leaders, need to be found. Awarded students are called cohorts of Voyager Scholars and are comprised of a hundred students who represent seventy-five (75) higher institutions and thirty-three (33) states.
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BENEFITS OF VOYAGER SCHOLARSHIP
The following are the benefits students stand to gain from the Voyager Scholarships:
Students in two-year colleges receive twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per academic year for two years, amounting to $50,000 per awarded student.
They receive this in the “last dollar” category of financial aid for both their senior and junior years of college.
Students are also given a stipend of ten thousand dollars ($10,00) and free Airbnb housing, which will cover their work-travel experience during the summer, usually between their junior and senior years in college.
Due to the need for experience, students design their summer voyages.
Students are required to participate every fall in a yearly summit, created to encourage and shape their plans for development and public service.
Students are given access to a network of mentors and leaders and are exposed to new areas of service within their fields through their invitation to a certain speaker series.
Awarded students join the global community of the Obama Foundation, which provides them with more resources on foundations and programming.
After graduation, Airbnb will make provisions for students to receive a two-thousand-dollar travel credit annually for ten years, amounting to twenty thousand dollars.
Applicants for this scholarship must pursue a career in public service. Such careers range from community organizing to social work, from entrepreneurship to the arts, and a host of other careers.
SUMMARY OF THE VOYAGER SCHOLARSHIP
The Voyager Scholarship is made possible by the contributions and partnership of Brain Chesky and the Obamas.
Annually, a hundred students are awarded scholarships worth more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
These students who are awarded must be those entering their junior year of college in any four-year accredited college or institution in the United States.
The foundation, through its provision of this scholarship, aids in alleviating the financial burden of debt on students.
Students who desire this scholarship, must, just like the founders of the program, be students who are strongly committed to serving the public, who demonstrate leadership qualities, who have a strong conviction to elicit positive change in the world, who are passionate about helping others, and who have a high vision of the possible positive changes that can be brought about through public service.
COVERAGE
Recipients are awarded scholarships worth over fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), which can be used for tuition, fees, and other important educational expenses.
ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS
- Applicants must plan to enroll full-time in any four-year accredited college or higher institution in the United States.
- Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 or its equivalent.
- Applicants must have demonstrated a strong commitment to public service.
- Students who desire this scholarship must plan to pursue a career in public service after they graduate from college or university.
- Applicants must be both permanent citizens of the United States or individuals who have been granted deferred action status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Programme, popularly called DACA.
APPLICATION
The application for this scholarship has been closed. To be notified when the application for this scholarship begins, interested students are to sign up for Obama Foundation emails at www.obama.org
DEADLINE
There is no current deadline for the application for these scholarships, as applications are closed.
For more information on this scholarship, do visit their official website, www.obama.org
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT IS THE VOYAGER SCHOLARSHIP?
This scholarship is one offered for two years which is intended to encourage and prepare juniors in any four-year accredited college or institution for various careers in public service.
HOW MANY PEOPLE APPLY FOR THE VOYAGER SCHOLARSHIP?
Annually, over a thousand students apply for this scholarship. However, only a hundred (100) students are chosen to be awarded this scholarship. For the 2022–2024 session, over a thousand and eight hundred students applied for this scholarship.
HOW MUCH IS THE OBAMA VOYAGER SCHOLARSHIP?
The foundation awards financial aid of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per year to each of the hundred students in their junior years of college. Awarded students also enjoy other benefits such as stipends and credits, as specified above.
CONCLUSION
With the rise in the cost of tuition and other college expenses, certain students no longer have the funds to cope with the compulsory financial pressure of colleges and institutions.
Consequently, the Obama Voyager Scholarship was established to aid students who desire a career in public service to graduate college debt-free.
This scholarship opens up a variety of other opportunities for these awarded students, especially those geared towards their career success.
Students who meet the requirements and are eligible are encouraged to apply early, as this is a very competitive scholarship.
