The public service scholarship provides extensive financial aid and significant travel stipends that last 10 years after graduation.
Junior Anya Coughlin has been named a 2024-2026 Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholar. The scholarship program, created by Barack and Michelle Obama along with Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, is designed to inspire and support students who have shown a dedication to global public service.
The award includes up to $50,000 in financial aid, a $10,000 stipend and free housing for a summer work-travel experience between junior and senior years, and a $20,000 stipend for travel in the 10 years after graduation.
Coughlin, a junior majoring in environmental analysis with a minor in women, gender, and sexuality studies, has not decided where she will take her summer trip. “I am hoping to find an internship that focuses on environmental justice and sustainable agriculture,” she said. “I want to use the scholarship to experience more of the world and grow my understanding of environmental justice in a non-American context.”
A Pathfinder Fellow in Environmental Leadership — a multiyear Ampersand Program exploring environmental science, policy, humanities, and sustainability — Coughlin spent a month studying agriculture in Madagascar earlier this year. “That trip really sparked my passion for community-based environmentalism,” she said.
Coughlin is currently studying at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad in Copenhagen. She will return to campus in January.
“Anya’s commitment to building a sustainable future takes shape in communities as local as our campus and as far away as Madagascar,” said Froggi VanRiper, a lecturer in environmental studies and an instructor for the Pathfinders program. “She is an exemplary recipient of this service-based award.”
In December, the 100 scholarship recipients will meet Barack Obama and Chesky at a convening ceremony. “I will also get to meet other Voyager Scholars from around the country and network with public service leaders,” Coughlin said. “I am so grateful for this scholarship and the opportunity to be a part of a cohort of such amazing young leaders.”
