South Suburban students chosen for Voyager Scholarship Program
Haniyyah Thomas, of Orland Park, has been chosen for the Voyager Scholarship, also known as the
Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service. PHOTO PROVIDED BY KIVVIT.
Lauren Morgan, of Tinley Park, has been chosen for the Voyager Scholarship, also known as the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service. PHOTO PROVIDED BY KIVVIT.
By Tia Carol Jones
Haniyyah Thomas, of Orland Park, and Lauren Morgan, of Tinley Park, have been named recipients of the Obama Foundation’s Voyager Scholarship Program.
The Voyager Scholarship, also known as the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, was created to develop leaders for the future. The two-year program provides up to $50,000 in financial aid, a $10,000 stipend and free Airbnb housing while they pursue summer work-travel, along with access to a network of leaders. The scholarship is funded by a $100 million contribution from Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb.
Thomas is studying public policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. When she saw the scholarship was for public service, she decided to apply because it was in line with the public service work she already does.
“It just really means all of the things I imagined myself doing, traveling and being able to have the opportunity to expand my learning outside of Chicago, that can actually happen,” she said. “It’s reassurance that I’m on the right path.”
Thomas studies education policy and curriculum design, she wants to learn what education looks like in different places. She wants to be able to experience how young people are educated in other places in order to inform how she thinks about classroom, culture, teaching and youth development.
Thomas chose that course of study after doing advocacy work while in high school. She realized that advocacy and giving people a voice was something she wanted to do. She is passionate about education and working with young people in an afterschool program.
“I want young people to realize that they have options and they don’t have to make trajectory altering decisions,” she said.
Morgan is a criminal justice major at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. She didn’t expect to hear back about the scholarship, so when she did, she was shocked. She plans to become a criminal defense attorney, something she has always known she wanted to do.
Morgan is most looking forward to meeting other people in the program who have similar goals and talking to the mentors she will have access to.
“It’s giving me an opportunity to open up my horizons more of what I want to do with my internship,” she said, adding that the funding will enable her to make a plan and decide where she wants to go for her summer work-travel experience.
Her advice to other students who are interested in applying to the scholarship is for them to apply and not to be afraid they might not get accepted.
“At the end of the day, if you are very serious about your public service and you’re passionate about it, you’re going to be able to talk about what you want to do. The passion you have for what you want to do is going to come off to those other people,” she said.
For more information about the Voyager Scholarship Program, visit https://www.obama.org/programs/voyager-scholarship/.
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