The Obamas and Brian Chesky Welcome Fifth Cohort of Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service Recipients

CHICAGO – President and Mrs. Obama and Brian Chesky, Airbnb co-founder and CEO, today announced the fifth cohort of Voyager Scholarship recipients, comprising 100 college juniors preparing for careers in public service. They are the first class of Voyagers named since the Obama Presidential Center opened on the South Side of Chicago, and they carry forward The Obama Foundation’s mission to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world.

The Voyager Scholarship is supported by a $100 million personal contribution from Chesky to The Obama Foundation. The two-year program enables students to pursue their public service passions by providing them with financial aid to help alleviate the burden of college debt, an immersive work-travel experience to expose them to new communities - their Summer Voyage - and leadership development programming and  access to mentors and leaders from across The Obama Foundation network. 

The 2026-2028 class comes from 39 states and territories and 68 colleges and universities, and includes Voyagers from Wyoming and Alaska for the first time. First-generation college students make up 61 percent of the cohort, up from 56 percent last year, reflecting a broad pipeline of talent from families and communities new to higher education.

Voyagers in this class are studying resilient infrastructure for island communities facing rising seas, water quality in the Great Lakes, housing justice for tenants and unhoused students, accessible health care for immigrant and refugee families, accessibility policy for the Deaf community, and the use of artificial intelligence in clinical care. Others are working on civic education and first-time voter participation, food access in urban neighborhoods, mental health support for young people, and economic opportunity in rural and Appalachian communities.

Learn more about the fifth cohort of Voyager Scholarship recipients here.

“Every year, this scholarship reminds Michelle, Brian, and me that there is no shortage of young people ready to take on hard problems,” said President Obama. “This year’s Voyagers come from small towns and big cities, from islands in the Pacific and neighborhoods here on the South Side. They are working on housing, health care, clean water, and public safety, and most of them started that work long before anyone offered to pay for it. We’re proud to help them keep going.”

“The best education often begins when you leave the place you know and see how someone else lives,” said Chesky. “That is the idea behind the Summer Voyage. We want these students to have new experiences, meet people whose lives look nothing like their own, and carry what they learn into whatever they build next.”

The scholarship extends beyond financial aid by offering every student $10,000 and free housing in Airbnb listings (up to $4,200) for their Summer Voyage. Designed by each student to support their unique goals and aspirations, the Summer Voyage is a work-travel experience that takes place during the summer between Voyagers’ junior and senior year of college that offers enriching connections to new communities and cultures, grounded in students’ interest in public service. The Obama Foundation guides  a two-year curriculum that focuses on  supporting Voyagers in designing and implementing their Summer Voyages, developing their bridge building skills, practicing values-based leadership, and refining their public service career vision. 

Voyagers in the 2025-2027 cohort, now returning from their Summer Voyage, explored more than 67 countries and 28 U.S. states and territories.

“It is a joy to welcome the 2026-2028 class of Voyagers, the first we have named since the Obama Presidential Center opened its doors on the South Side of Chicago,” said Valerie Jarrett, CEO of The Obama Foundation. “These 100 young people carry a deep curiosity about the world and an equally deep commitment to the communities that raised them. Next summer they will be able to travel and work anywhere in the world to experience new cultures and enrich their perspectives, meet peers who share their sense of purpose, and join a network that will support them long after graduation, helping to create a better world for future generations to come.”

The new class will also have opportunities to connect with the growing Voyager network to exchange insight, refine projects, and build relationships that endure.

The Obamas and Chesky are passionate about the transformative effect that exposure to cultures and experiences around the world can have on young people. In addition to travel and personalized career coaching, Voyagers meet virtually each month to hone their bridge building, values-based leadership, and storytelling skills, and foster relationships within their cohort.

For more information about the Voyager Scholarship visit obama.org/programs/voyager-scholarship/ . 

About The Obama Foundation

The Obama Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. That mission begins on the South Side of Chicago, the home of the Obama Presidential Center. But that approach extends to all our work, whether it’s holding leadership training sessions in communities throughout the U.S., bringing local leaders together in countries around the world, working to support the global education of girls, or ensuring young men of color have pathways to opportunity. From every corner of the globe, our program participants are working together to address some of the biggest challenges of our time—from renewing our democratic institutions, protecting LGBTQ+ rights, fighting climate change, and so much more.

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Contact: Emily Bittner, press@obama.org