HWS News
13 October 2025 • Service Connolly ’27 Named Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholar
Recognized for her leadership in inclusive education, Jacqueline Connolly ’27 has earned the prestigious Voyager Scholarship, one of the nation’s most selective awards for emerging public service leaders.
Jacqueline Connolly ’27 has been selected as a recipient of the distinguished Voyager Scholarship, created by former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky to support young leaders in public service. Connolly is one of only 100 students nationwide chosen for the honor.
The Voyager Scholarship is a two-year leadership development and scholarship program that provides up to $50,000 in financial aid, a $10,000 work-travel stipend with Airbnb credits, access to annual summits and speaker series, and membership in the Obama Foundation’s global alumni network. The program is designed to equip emerging leaders with the resources, experiences and connections they need to pursue public service careers and advance a just, equitable and interconnected world.
“It’s an honor to receive the Voyager Scholarship; I know it will be invaluable on my journey to becoming an educator and youth advocate,” says Connolly, who is pursuing a B.A. in sociology and education with a minor in child advocacy. She is also working toward her teacher education certificate with dual certification in Childhood Education and Teaching Students with Disabilities (Grades 1–6). “The Voyager and HWS are preparing me, as President Gearan says, to lead a life of consequence and carry forward the mission of HWS.”
Only days after her selection, Connolly is already working with a Voyager mentor to shape her journey, from charting her summer project to planning the experiences that will define the next two years.
Outside of the classroom, she has tutored and mentored students at the Boys & Girls Club of Geneva with the HWS Tutor Corps, served as a teaching fellow with AmeriCorps Generation Teach in Washington, D.C., and completed student-teaching placements in Seneca Falls and Canandaigua schools.
“I have worked in inclusive classrooms, after-school programs and therapeutic settings where hunger and trauma create barriers to learning,” Connolly says. “I have also seen how art, music, movement, nutrition and mental health supports can help students thrive.”
Internationally, she spent the summer of 2024 as a teaching assistant in Kigali, Rwanda with Autisme Rwanda to adapt classroom environments and support children through sensory-based and arts-integrated instruction. In 2023, HWS named Connolly a Civic Engagement Scholar, which is presented by the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning to a student who demonstrates sustained community service and civic leadership.
