© 2024 KPCW

KPCW
Spencer F. Eccles Broadcast Center
PO Box 1372 | 460 Swede Alley
Park City | UT | 84060
Office: (435) 649-9004 | Studio: (435) 655-8255

Music & Artist Inquiries: music@kpcw.org
News Tips & Press Releases: news@kpcw.org
Volunteer Opportunities
General Inquiries: info@kpcw.org
Listen Like a Local Park City & Heber City Summit & Wasatch counties, Utah
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

PCHS 2020 graduate earns Obama Foundation scholarship

Mary Hurner
Mary Hurner

Park City graduate Mary Hurner says she’ll use a recent scholarship to continue down a path of supporting refugees in her future.

A recent Park City High School graduate is one of the first to receive a scholarship sponsored by former President Barack Obama.

Mary Hurner grew up in Heber City and graduated from Park City High in 2020. Now, she’s a junior studying public policy at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

She spent much of last year in an internship helping young refugees from around the world in the Utica area.

“We’d go on group visits, like the museum in town, or like the zoo or dance classes, just to get people to know one another, and I really enjoyed doing that,” Hurner says.

At the end of the year, Hurner applied for the brand-new Voyager Scholarship, also known as the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service. Named for Obama and Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky, it’s geared toward “young leaders who can bridge divides and help solve our biggest challenges.”

When she applied last summer, Hurner referenced her internship, as well as how she would use the scholarship to go into the world and serve. She says she was surprised to find out a day before going back to school this fall that she was one of 100 selected.

“I really think it's life-changing because it's this opportunity to pick whatever you want to do next summer and have the funding that has the support of the Obama Foundation, like they set us up with coaches to kind of really hone in on having a meaningful experience next summer. So, I'm really looking forward to that, and whatever else will come after it. And beyond that, it's just having those connections and getting to know some really cool people through the program,” she says.

In a couple months, she says one of the first installments of the program will take her to New York City to meet other scholarship recipients, Obama, Chesky and other world leaders.

In the application, she touched on her French background. She says she’d like to use the language in her future work.

While in high school, she won a statewide recognition as World Languages Sterling Scholar. It’s now her minor in college.

The French connection includes her mother, Carrie Hurner, a teacher better known to Treasure Mountain Junior High students as “Madame Hurner.” The family enjoyed several stints of living in France.

As one of the first winners of the scholarship, she says it’s a reminder to students to be ambitious.

“This is definitely not something that I thought I would get,” Hurner says. “I've definitely been rejected from things I've applied for before; that's part of life, but if you apply for some of these things, you'll get something. I've been interested in community service work since I was in high school. Jumping on opportunities that seemed to fit my interests really led me to where I am today. So, follow what you're interested in.”

More information can be found on the Voyager Scholarship webpage.