Junior Zoe Kukla awarded national Voyager Scholarship to pursue research on early literacy 

Zoe Kukla believes being able to read should be a skill available to all children, not a privilege reserved only for some. 

As the recipient of the Voyager Scholarship, the University of Wisconsin–Madison junior intends to help develop, research, and expand literacy through educational communications and media resources that equip children with the skills to succeed. 

“I am deeply committed to solving the lack of accessibility to information, particularly for marginalized communities,” says Kukla, of Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Kukla is pursuing a major in political science, with comprehensive honors in the major and in the liberal arts. She is also pursuing a second major in history, with honors in the liberal arts and certificates in African American studies and public policy. 

The Voyager Scholarship is a two-year leadership and scholarship program established in 2022 by the Obama Foundation and Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb. The scholarship “supports students who have a passion for helping others, experience serving their communities, and can demonstrate an expansive view of what’s possible through public service.” 

On Aug. 27, the program announced 100 students from 44 states in its third co-hort. Kukla is the first Badger to be a recipient of the scholarship. 

Each recipient receives the following: 

• Up to $50,000 in financial aid; 

• A $10,000 stipend and $4,200 in Airbnb travel credit to design and carry out an immersive travel and work experience during the summer between their junior and senior year of college; 

• A $20,000 travel stipend ($2,000 for each of 10 years) after graduation; 

• The opportunity to attend a fall summit during their junior year; 

• Access to a network of leaders. 

For her immersive summer learning opportunity, Kukla is planning to work with an established nonprofit literacy organization in New York City to conduct research in New York City public schools. 

Kukla says she learned about the power of public service as a high school student when she created “Project KIKI” (Kindness in Kids Initiative), an effort to address racial tension in her school community. She developed activities and workshops for elementary and middle school students to promote empathy and understanding. 

“Through engaging in activities like sharing cultural foods and discussing different traditions, I saw barriers dissolve and connections form,” she says. 

At UW–Madison, Kukla is an editor at The Daily Cardinal and a former policy proposer and researcher for the Wisconsin Ideas Conference. During the summer of 2023, she served as a communications intern for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She currently works as the digital community organizer for Whitmer. 

“We’re so proud of Zoe for everything she’s achieved and for being the first Badger to be awarded this prestigious public service scholarship,” says Julie Stubbs, director of the Office of Undergraduate Academic Awards. “With UW–Madison’s emphasis on community engagement and collaborative problem-solving, we believe Badgers are strong contenders for this scholarship in the future. We encourage all undergraduates interested in public service to consider applying.”