Katie Riedy wins inaugural Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship
Dedicated to her work with LGBTQ+ issues, URI’s Katie Riedy wins an inaugural scholarship for public service. PHOTO CREDIT: Eddie Melfi | Staff Photographer
In August, a third-year student at the University of Rhode Island was one of the inaugural 100 recipients of the Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service.
Katie Riedy, an event planner and education specialist for the Gender and Sexuality Center at URI, received this scholarship for her work in LGBTQ+ advocacy in the URI community.
According to the scholarship’s website, the Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service is based on the idea that “an increasingly globalized world needs young leaders who can bridge divides and help solve our biggest challenges together.” Created in collaboration between the Obama Foundation and Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, the scholarship provides up to $50,000 in financial aid for students’ third- and fourth-year students.
When Riedy heard about the scholarship in the spring of 2022, there was a common theme of hope in the application process. She was required to submit a series of short essay questions and upload a two-minute video describing what brings her hope for the future. Riedy said her area of focus for this project and her hope is advocating for the LGBTQ+ community.
Chesky is also giving each recipient a $10,000 stipend and free Airbnb housing to plan a summer voyage to gain experience in their field of work. An additional annual $2,000 stipend in travel credits will be provided to the recipients for the next ten years.
Riedy said the guidance and financial support provided by this scholarship allow students to work towards solving large societal challenges.
“The networking opportunities are so exciting, honestly,” Riedy said. “When you’re in this tiny state of Rhode Island, you don’t get a lot of opportunities to meet students from all across the country.”
She is already planning her summer voyage in Florida, where she intends to connect with educators about the importance of LGBTQ+ advocacy for the youth. With the endless opportunities now available to her, Riedy said that she hopes to continuously make a difference in the world.
“I would love to see a world where people are able to thrive where they are,” she said. “There’s a lot of inequities in this world, like injustices towards LGBTQ+ people, that can prevent them from thriving in school. But, that happens all over the place.”
Riedy moved to Rhode Island in 2019 and started at the University in the Spring 2022 semester. According to Riedy, the extent of resources and representation provided by the Gender and Sexuality Center for the LGBTQ+ community on campus drew her to get heavily involved.
“The last school I went to, there was a very large queer community on campus,” Riedy said. “But, there weren’t any resources, there wasn’t an official Center, and there wasn’t an official club. So, then, if something happened, there was nowhere to go. There was nowhere to turn to.”
Through experience, Riedy believes in the difference a center like URI’s can make for the LGBTQ+ community. According to her, the scholarship awarded to her provides the ability to be involved in such differences.
“I would love to be able to do something like Annie Russell has been able to do for me,” Riedy said. “She demands resources for us in a way that a lot of universities don’t have for the queer community on campus.”
Annie Russell, the director of the URI Gender and Sexuality Center, is a source of inspiration for Riedy.
“Katie runs a support group, assists with major events and provides education through our Safe Zone program,” Russell said. “This truly demands a variety of skill sets and Katie continues to excel and grow to greater heights in her role with our center.”
The scholarship also provides workshops to encourage students to grow in their field of work.
“We already had the first one, I think it was two weeks ago,” Riedy said. “We focused our emotional energy into what we want to be doing in order to make the world a better place.”
The Voyager Scholarship will provide further workshops for its recipients. Recipients of the scholarship can use the financial support and educational guidance to grow into the leader they’d like to be.