Isabelle Cole is one of 100 nationwide to win Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship

salvetoday Posted On September 13, 2022
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Isabelle Cole, a social work major and global studies minor, is one of only 100 students nationwide selected for a Voyager Scholarship – The Obama Chesky Scholarship for Public Service.

The multi-year scholarship program, founded by former President Barack Obama together with the Obama family and Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, intends to shape the next generation of public service leaders. Winners receive up to $50,000 in “last dollar” financial aid for their junior and senior years of college, a $10,000 stipend and free Airbnb housing to pursue a summer work-travel experience.

Voyager Scholarship recipients also receive a 10-year annual travel stipend and invitations to a fall summit to meet with Obama and Chesky, along with a broader network of leaders to discuss empathy and understanding in leadership, among other topics.

Cole, who spent the spring semester of her sophomore year in Morocco studying migration and Arabic, said the award is an honor that she never anticipated. “The Voyager Scholarship is giving me the tools to turn my vision for a better future into a reality,” she said. “This public service program will give me the opportunity to work and learn from community leaders anywhere in the world to help tackle social injustice. Each Voyager develops a six-plus-week summer voyage. I am yearning to return to where I studied abroad in Rabat, Morocco.”

Cole hopes to work alongside resilient migrant mothers that she had the privilege of connecting with during her time abroad. Her ultimate goal is to work with social workers at a non-governmental organization in Morocco to create an after-school/summer program for migrant children.

In high school, Cole founded 13 Reasons to Fly, a nonprofit organization focused on normalizing the conversation around mental illness. She dedicated a year of service in 2019-2020 to City Year, the nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. that promotes educational equity in urban public schools.

She has been active on campus as an orientation leader, peer career advisor and a member of the Student Government Association and the Sigma Phi Sigma national mercy honor society.