Gomez Is UNO’s First Voyager Scholarship Recipient

UNO student Giovanni Gomez is a Maverick – and a Voyager.

As a recipient of a Voyager Scholarship, Gomez is the first University of Nebraska Omaha student to receive the coveted Obama Foundation award. Also known as the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, the scholarship is designed to uplift and enrich the lives of students pursuing public service career paths. Gomez is one of 100 students across the country to receive the award.

Scholarship recipients can receive up to $50,000 in financial aid, as well as $10,000 in funds to pursue a summer work-travel experience during their senior year summer. After graduation, Voyagers are given a 10-year travel stipend with Airbnb that will credit them with $2,000 in travel credits each year. These funds are aimed at helping the new grads strengthen their public service careers and explore new opportunities. Additionally, the program members convene virtually and in person to connect, learn, and grow as a cohort.

“It literally changed the trajectory of where my life will be,” Gomez said.

Gomez, a junior double majoring in political science and business administration with concentrations in finance, real estate, and legal studies, is from Omaha. With plans to pursue law school after graduation and an interest in one day practicing immigration law, he hopes to use his work-travel experience to visit countries experiencing mass immigration and learn more about the policies at play across the world.

“The whole point is to help you gain that exposure to different countries and different communities,” Gomez said. “So obviously I intend to do just that.”

In addition to the Voyager accolade, Gomez also participated in a LAWbound Academy program last summer. Hosted by the LatinoJustice CAP Leadership Institute, the program connects aspiring law students to critical information about the law school application process.

Reflecting on the possibilities now in front of him, Gomez feels awe, shock, and a tinge of fate. His late great-grandmother always instilled in him that “anything was possible.” Despite hearing the phrase frequently and reading it on the bracelet she always wore, he once considered his law school dreams out of reach. Now, as he joins a cohort of students from some of the most esteemed institutions across the country and prepares to apply to law school, Gomez realizes that his dreams are his reality.

“As my grandma said,” Gomez said, “Anything is possible.”