Chris Byrnes ‘26 has never left North America. Now, months after receiving the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, he will use the esteemed award to travel to East Asia next semester.
“I want to meet so many different individuals and leaders of so many different communities,” Byrnes said. “But I just want to use the travel and just learn so much more about the world.”
The scholarship targets students who show a passion for public service and have experience serving their communities, according to the scholarship website.
Also known as the Voyager Scholarship, the two-year leadership development and scholarship program accepts just 100 undergraduate juniors nationwide each year. Launched in 2022, the program is rooted in the Barack Obama Foundation and is funded by a $100 million gift from Brian Chesky, the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb.
Awardees are provided with an up to $50,000 scholarship for their last two years of college, a $10,000 stipend and free Airbnb housing to pursue a “Summer Voyage,” a work-travel experience in one’s chosen field. These benefits also come with an additional 10-year travel stipend after graduation, as well as an ongoing mentorship and networking program with professionals in relevant fields of interest.
Byrnes, a double major in Government & Law and Asian studies, with a minor in data science, discovered the scholarship on the college’s scholarships and fellowships website. He found the scholarship just one week before the due date and had to keep his success a secret until its public launch in late August.
“It was a bit challenging because I wanted to express my gratitude for people that helped me along the way,” he said.
Byrnes credited his professors, highlighting Andrew Clarke, an assistant professor in the Government & Law department, for helping shape the way he represented himself in his application. Clarke and Byrnes have co-authored a research paper and the latter has worked with GovLab, Clarke’s student-led research team, for the past two years.
Clarke said that Byrnes “genuinely wants to know some of the answers to the research questions that he pursues and that’s not unique … but it’s definitely not a universal trait.”
“Chris is an excellent student and absolutely deserves this prestigious scholarship,” Clarke said.
Although Byrnes will use the mentorship program to evaluate his options for his Summer Voyage, he hopes to extend his upcoming study abroad experience in South Korea.
According to Byrnes, he hopes to use his time abroad to “do some research for my thesis or background research for it and really just immerse myself in Korean culture and politics and become a more educated citizen.”
Byrnes credits his sparked interest in Asian studies to a newly discovered personal connection and conversations with those from the region.
“I started getting interested in East Asia, in South Korea in particular recently, because I was shared stories about my father, who served as a Marine in the ’80s near the DMZ,” he said, referencing the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
Benjamin Cohen, a professor of engineering studies and the McKelvy House resident advisor, first met Byrnes through the McKelvy program.
“Chris has a natural kindness that sets him apart from other students, that suffuses everything he does,” Cohen said. “He has a kind of demeanor of care and attention to others that I don’t always see.”
The Voyager Scholarship also brought on a new mindset for Byrnes. After applying to more than 30 internships in the spring and receiving only rejections, Byrnes was “crushed.”
Yet, receiving the scholarship shifted his perspective.
“Don’t lose hope,” Byrnes said. “Things work out. Everything’s gonna be okay. And I realize I say that in the position I am right now, but I’m a firm believer that everything works out.”
“It’s not about getting a scholarship,” he continued. “It’s about making change.”
