EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State University third-year student Ashlin Stover has become the institution’s first Voyager Scholarship recipient, securing up to $50,000 in financial aid and a 10-year travel stipend.
The Voyager Scholarship for Public Service is the brainchild of the Obamas and Brian Chesky, CEO and co-founder of Airbnb, to support students who demonstrate a passion for helping others, experience serving their communities, and an expansive view of what’s possible through public service. The 2025-2027 cohort of 100 students represents 34 states and territories, as well as 71 colleges and universities.
The scholarship provides college students financial aid, meaningful travel experiences, and a network of mentors and leaders to support them.
In addition to financial aid and a decade-long travel stipend, awardees receive a $10,000 stipend and free Airbnb housing to pursue a summer work-travel experience between their junior and senior year of college, gaining exposure to new communities and experience in a chosen field.
“Congratulations to Ashlin, an incredibly talented and committed student who will make a difference through her service,” said Assistant Dean and Director of the MSU Distinguished Student Awards Office (DSAO) Kristin Janka, whose office supports students across the university’s campus applying to prestigious national and international opportunities.
Stover’s faculty mentor Professor Norman Graham describes her as “a wonderful student intent on making a difference with a committed career in international studies and service.”
“I am sure this scholarship will be important in her pursuit of excellence,” Graham said.
Stover is a third-year student majoring in international relations through James Madison College (JMC), while minoring in business and European studies. She is a laboratory leader in the Human Rights Data Science Lab, an undergraduate project in JMC where Stover works with other student researchers to investigate and document human rights violations, threats to international security, and war crimes.
“Every week Ashlin volunteers her time to lead research teams in conducting open-source investigations into alleged human rights violations by mentoring her peers in investigative methods, managing sensitive data, and facilitating the presentation of evidence-based findings in academic or advocacy contexts,” said lab supervisor Professor Robert Brathwaite.
“Ashlin’s dedication to the Human Rights Lab personifies the goals of the Voyager Scholarship where her passion for helping others through public service contributes positively to the MSU community and beyond,” Brathwaite said.
In addition to Stover’s research experience, Graham noted her academic excellence in the classroom and abroad. “Last summer, she joined 25 JMC students on our annual summer education abroad program,” said Graham, “which involves intensive coursework at the Free University of Brussels and a series of visits with experts at the institutions of the European Union and NATO.”
Over the summer, Stover worked as a legal intern for Salvatore Prescott Porter & Porter, PLLC where she conducted research on U.S. and Michigan Supreme Court cases related to discrimination in employment and education. She is from Northville, Michigan and attended Northville High School.
The two-year Voyager Scholarship program is open to MSU students entering their junior year of who have demonstrated a financial need and are either: U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, permanent residents, or DACA recipients. The next application will open in spring 2026.
Interested MSU students are encouraged to fill out an Intent to Apply form on the DSAO website.