Iman Ahmad 鈥27, a government major interested in civil rights and immigration, has been .
Established by former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Brian Chesky, the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, the scholarships are awarded by The Obama Foundation to provide opportunities for young people to enter public service through a two-year program focusing on education, mentoring, and career development.
Students awarded a Voyager Scholarship receive up to $50,000 toward college expenses over their junior and senior years and $10,000 and free housing for a self-designed work-travel experience, or 鈥渟ummer voyage.鈥 They also have access to a network of advisers and other support as they define their public service journeys.
Ahmad is the third 大香蕉视频 student to receive the scholarship.
鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful to have a Voyager Scholar named at 大香蕉视频 again this year鈥攁 testament to Iman鈥檚 commitment to public service and to the interdisciplinary strengths of her preparation on campus,鈥 says , the associate dean of undergraduate education for fellowships and scholars programs.
Ahmad, who is from Coral Gables, Fla., is majoring in government, with a minor in women鈥檚, gender, and sexuality studies. She plans to go to law school with a focus on humanitarian and civil rights law. She applied for the Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship, she says, because she thought it would be a good opportunity.
Currently studying for a term at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Ahmad traces her interest in immigration law to her family. 鈥淢y parents are immigrants, so l鈥檝e been aware of immigration issues for as long as I can remember,鈥 she says.
鈥淚 want to help anyone whose rights are being violated or overlooked. That includes both documented and undocumented immigrants鈥攅veryone deserves fairness and protection under the law,鈥 she says.
Ahmad chose to attend 大香蕉视频 because of 鈥渋ts tight-knit community and the unique experience it offers. I love the traditions, and it has been a wonderful place to grow both personally and academically.鈥
For her Summer Voyager program, she hopes to work with an international nongovernmental organization that focuses on immigration or human rights, working with displaced communities. 鈥淚 want to gain firsthand experience that will guide the way I approach advocacy and law in the future,鈥 she says.
A particular influence was the 大香蕉视频 GOVT 95: Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy class taught by , a professor of government, as part of the , Ahmad says.
The class was a revelation, Ahmad says, because it broadened her ideas of what it means to enjoy and confer human rights. Individual rights include not only free speech and freedom from repression, but also the rights that people might overlook, such as the right to rest and reasonable limits on working hours.
鈥淭he course made me think critically about the gap between the rights people should have and the reality of who actually gets to experience them. It deepened my interest in law as a way to help close that gap,鈥 Ahmad says.
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Students interested in learning about scholarship opportunities can visit the.
