# ASU student receives prestigious Obama Foundation scholarship for public service

### Next Generation Service Corps member wants to address problems in health care

By Mary Beth Faller, ASU News
October 6, 2025

An Arizona State University student who wants to improve the health care system in the U.S. has been selected for the prestigious Voyager Scholarship for Public Service, which provides generous financial help and a travel experience.

Naomi Inegbenedion is one of only 100 students nationwide to be honored with the scholarship, funded by a $100 million personal contribution from Brian Chesky, the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, to the Obama Foundation.

Inegbenedion is majoring in health care administration policy, and, as part of her participation in the Next Generation Service Corps at ASU, she’s also earning a master’s degree in public administration through the Accelerated Federal Career Track.

“I really want to work at the intersection of health care and government. And the master's in public administration ties in because I'll be able to learn more about how the government sector intersects with health care to help improve the health care system as a whole,” she said.

She’s also pursuing a minor in public service and public policy, plus two certificates: cross-sector leadership, through the Next Generation Service Corps, and applied business data analytics.

Voyager Scholarship recipients receive:

- Up to $25,000 per year in financial aid to ease debt so that students can afford to pursue a career in public service.
- A $10,000 stipend and free Airbnb housing to pursue a summer work-travel experience between the junior and senior year of college that the students design themselves.
- A 10-year travel stipend, paid $2,000 a year for 10 years, to allow the winners to continue to broaden their horizons.
- Networking opportunities.

For her travel experience, Inegbenedion would like to go to Europe to learn more about universal health care.

“I'm really interested in learning how their culture shapes their access to health care and what lessons I can bring back,” she said.

She’ll also travel to Washington, D.C., to learn about health care policy to bolster her knowledge for a possible run at public office in the future.

“I originally came to school as a nursing major, and I was doing that direct patient care because I'm really passionate about helping people.

“But I realized that there's so much more to the health care industry and I wanted to make a larger impact and help the system as a whole.”

Inegbenedion, who is from Fontana, California, found out about the scholarship through her participation in the Next Generation Service Corps at ASU.

“NGSC has helped me a lot, opening up resources and opportunities for me,” she said.

“We learn how to solve complex societal issues. My mission team is homelessness. We're engaging within the community regularly on how we can solve homelessness and helping people who are experiencing that.”

When Inegbenedion was looking at colleges, she knew she wanted to go to a big city.

“I was looking at Atlanta, I was looking at LA, I was looking at New York,” she said.

“But then I noticed that Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities. And that really piqued my interest. And as a young professional, I knew it would have a lot of resources and opportunities and I also knew that going to a school like ASU, a large school, would offer a network and that full college experience.

“ASU has done that for me and it's been amazing.”

In addition to the Next Generation Service Corps, Inegbenedion also is part of the Arizona Students Association, the Black Medical Students Association, America Reads at ASU, Undergraduate Student Government and the African Students Association, of which she’s president. She’s an Andrew Goodman Foundation Fellow, a certified nursing assistant and a resident assistant in ASU housing at the Downtown Phoenix campus.

Inegbenedion is the sixth ASU student to win the scholarship since it launched in 2022.

She said she got the email acceptance at 6 a.m. and started crying.

“I was recognized for my dedication to public service,” she said. “I knew I had this calling, but to get that reassurance is so rewarding.”

This story originally appeared on ASU News.