Baruch Student Selected Among First Recipients of the New Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service

November 8, 2022

Baruch College undergraduate Bricen Fisher (’24) is among 100 students selected from a nationwide pool of nearly 1,800 applicants for the inaugural Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service—a new program created by President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Airbnb Co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky to “shape the next generation of young leaders…to bridge divides and help solve our biggest challenges to create meaningful change.”

WATCH: President Obama and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky welcome the first “Voyagers.”

A Life-Changing Scholarship

Funded by a $100 million personal contribution from Brian Chesky to the Obama Foundation, the Voyager Scholarship is a two-year program for students in their junior and senior years of college from across the United States.

Voyagers will receive up to $50,000 in financial aid; stipend and free Airbnb housing for a junior year summer work and travel experience; access to a network of leaders, and a 10-year travel stipend so students can continue to “broaden their horizons and forge new connections throughout their careers.”

Fisher is among the first cohort of Voyager Scholarship recipients who represent 35 states and territories, as well as 70 colleges and universities. A major in statistics and quantitative modeling at Baruch’s Zicklin School of Business, he is the only scholarship recipient attending an institution in The City University of New York system.

Goal: Expand World View for Business, Leadership, and Problem Solving

Fisher has previously interned in the U.S. and abroad to develop projects at the intersections of urban planning, green infrastructure, and sustainability. This past summer, he worked in Bangalore, India, which was his first experience exploring a new country by himself.

Now, Fisher is eager to embark on more journeys through the Voyager Scholarship.

“By further expanding my worldview and traveling to exciting places, I will become globally minded in my approach to business, leadership, and problem-solving,” explains Fisher, a Jeannette K. Watson Fellow in 2021. “This scholarship will allow me to meet with world leaders and craft a unique career that combines the innovative potential of data and finance to meet the demands for resilient and innovative infrastructure development in the 21st century.”

After graduating Baruch, Fisher is planning to engage in a career in the financial industry by utilizing data analysis, modeling, and finance to support state and local resiliency efforts, business growth, and infrastructure development.

“President Barack Obama and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky exemplify how leadership is scaled at a large level,” Fisher says. “Through the Voyager Scholarship, I hope to work to redefine business with an emphasis on how engaging in public service can help develop sustainable and ethical business practices. This scholarship shows how interconnected our world is and the importance of leadership across sectors.”

Hear More from President Obama and CEO Chesky

President Obama and CEO Chesky reveal how different they are but still have much in common. Their  shared understanding of a “path to service” was the genesis of the “Voyager Scholarship” to substantially support students pursuing careers in public service.

Watch: Announcing the Voyager Scholarship for Public Service.

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