CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Two University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign juniors are among 100 students nationwide awarded the inaugural Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, also known as Voyager Scholarships.
Ella Dennis, of Downers Grove, Illinois, and a graduate of Downers Grove North High School, is a junior double-majoring in global studies and psychology. She is currently studying Wolof at the West African Research Center in Senegal as a Boren Scholar through the National Security Education Program. She is a member of the Campus Honors Program and founder of It’s On Us UIUC, a chapter of the national movement that involves students in the fight against sexual assault.
Dennis has served as a social justice peer educator at the campus Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations and remotely at the Alliance for Citizen Engagement, a think tank that publishes policy briefs on development in sub-Saharan Africa. Dennis also volunteers for the United Nations at the Tanzania Development Trust, creating GPS routes to help facilitate young girls' and women's safe journeys to shelters in rural Tanzania.
She recently finished a government affairs and advocacy internship at the Jed Foundation, a mental health nonprofit that focuses on teens and young adults. Dennis said she aspires to work as a global assault prevention advocate, creating and mandating culturally specific prevention programs to fight against gender-based violence.
Linh Nguyen, of South Beloit, Illinois, and a graduate of South Beloit High School, is a junior double-majoring in political science and psychology with a minor in criminology. Before enrolling at Illinois, Nguyen participated in the Running Start program, earning both a high school diploma and associate degree with honors concurrently through attending Rock Valley College full-time during her junior and senior years of high school.
At Illinois, Nguyen works the night shift as the team leader to student patrol officers in the Division of Public Safety, helping to ensure student safety on campus. She previously worked as the youth development coordinator at Stateline Boys and Girls Club.
Nguyen also has served as the vice president of the university FBI Collegiate Academy and as vice chair of the Illinois Student Government Sexual Assault Prevention Department. She said she seeks a career in federal law enforcement helping to reunite families by focusing on investigations, crisis management and services for children who are victims of violent crimes and human trafficking.
Funded by a $100 million personal contribution to the Obama Foundation from Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, the Voyager Scholarship is a two-year program for students in their junior and senior years of college from across the U.S. who are committed to pursuing careers that serve the public and their communities.
The award provides up to $50,000 to use toward education-related expenses, a $10,000 stipend and Airbnb credit to implement an immersive work-travel experience to explore their desired issue-area within public service, and $2,000 of Airbnb travel credit for 10 years following graduation to continue to gain exposure to new communities and broaden their horizons.
Voyager Scholars also are invited to meet with former President Obama, Chesky and fellow recipients to discuss the role of empathy and understanding in leadership and public service, along with further professional development opportunities throughout the program.