Applications for a scholarship through The Barack Obama Foundation are now open. This comes as Airbnb has donated $100 million to fund scholarships for students pursuing public service careers.
The Voyager scholarship, funded by Brian Chesky, includes multiple stipends for travel and will grant $50,000 to rising college juniors to cover tuition costs over two years, according to the Guardian. Recipients will also receive an Airbnb credit worth $2,000 a year for 10 years after they graduate.
Additionally, former President Obama and Chesky plan to meet with the winners at an annual conference to talk about service and leadership. The donation is one of the two largest the foundation has received, along with a donation from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
“If we want this next generation of leaders to be able to do what they need to do, they have to meet each other. They have to know each other. They have to understand each other’s communities,” said Obama. “You’re going to find young people from every corner of this country who are going to be future change makers. There are leaders everywhere. We just have to find them.”
The scholarship has opened applications via the Scholarship America website for the first 100 students it will fund. Applicants must be entering their junior year of college at a four-year-U.S. university and must be an American citizen, permanent resident or have a deferred action status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program.
Students must demonstrate a commitment to public service through careers in government, nonprofits or in the private sector. That includes those with experience in community organization, social work, entrepreneurship and in the arts.
The deadline to apply is June 14.