Meet our BOOKED Trips Maya Angelou Travel Scholarship Recipients!

by Jalisa Whitley | Mar 25, 2025 | Blogs, Featured

Drumroll Please…Meet our BOOKED Trips Maya Angelou Travel Scholarship Recipients!

ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP

Inspired by the life and work of the iconic Maya Angelou, the BOOKED Trips Maya Angelou scholarship honors women of color who embody her spirit of exploration, creativity, and social justice. Like Angelou, who traveled the world, drawing inspiration from various cultures to fuel her art and activism, we seek to empower women to embark on transformative journeys of discovery. We received an outstanding 180 applications from 15 countries and 27 US states and the District of Columbia. Thanks to the generosity of our first donor Melissa Jones we were able to award TWO $5,000 scholarships toward a BOOKED Trips experience in Ghana, Morocco, or Colombia.

Maya Angelou was a renowned singer, dancer, poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. Angelou’s work took her around the world including Egypt, Ghana, and various countries in Europe. From 1954 to 1955, Angelou toured Europe with a production of the opera Porgy and Bess and became active in the Civil Rights Movement serving as the northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In 1961, Angelou moved to Cairo, Egypt where she wrote for the weekly newspaper, “The Arab Observer”, then to Ghana, where she taught at the University of Ghana’s School of Music and Drama and worked as a feature editor for “The African Review”. Angelou returned to the United States in 1964 to help Malcolm X build the Organization of African American Unity and went on to write seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years.

Just as Angelou drew inspiration from her travels to fuel her writing and artistry, we believe that BOOKED Trips’ book-inspired journeys can be a powerful tool for personal growth and self-discovery. By exploring destinations through the lens of literature, recipients of this scholarship can deepen their understanding of the world, connect with diverse cultures, and ignite their creativity.

MEET THE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

Hope Nabalayo | Nairobi, Kenya

Hope Nabalayo is a Kenyan creative and journalist who embodies the spirit of Maya Angelou through her unwavering commitment to storytelling as a force for social change. Hope believes her purpose is to share “raw, authentic narratives that shape communities, honor history, and inspire change.” Her words are ‘the echoes of my ancestors—their struggles, their triumphs, and their unwavering fight for justice.”

Hope’s dedication to truth-telling is evident in her powerful documentation of the 2024 protests in Nairobi, where she stood on the tear-gas-filled streets, bearing witness and ensuring that these pivotal moments lived beyond fleeting headlines. She says “the world is burning, and storytelling is my way of making sense of it, of
ensuring that no experience is forgotten.” This act of courage mirrors Maya Angelou’s own commitment to documenting and participating in pivotal historical events. Just as Angelou traveled the world, drawing inspiration from diverse cultures, Hope seeks to explore new landscapes and narratives, believing that “every new place holds untold stories waiting to be captured, voices that deserve to be amplified.”

Hope’s passion for literature as a passport to the world further connects her to Angelou’s legacy. Her desire to experience Ghana, following the footsteps of characters from Yaa Gyasi’s “Homegoing,” is not just a personal journey, but a pilgrimage to the heart of stories that have shaped her understanding of Ghana’s history and culture. Her navigation of various barriers to travel for young African women including visas, restrictions, and red tape, underscores her resilience and her determination to break down those limitations, much like Angelou defied societal expectations.

Through her own words, her activism, and her storytelling, Hope Nabalayo embodies the core values we sought in a scholarship recipient: a dedication to storytelling, a commitment to social impact, and a profound appreciation for the transformative power of travel and literature.

Sidhvi Nagapriya Reddy | Birmingham, AL

Sidhvi Nagapriya Reddy is a remarkable future physician and storyteller whose journey is one of resilience, empathy, and a profound commitment to understanding the human experience, qualities that echo Angelou’s own dedication to bridging divides and fostering connection.

Sidhvi’s narrative is powerful. As a deaf/hard of hearing individual, she has navigated a world often designed without her needs in mind. Her story is one of overcoming societal expectations and transforming personal struggles into a catalyst for understanding and compassion. Sidhvi’s aspiration of becoming a doctor is rooted in a desire to see and be seen. She seeks to create a space where patients not only receive medical care but also feel understood and valued.

Like Maya Angelou, who traveled the world to expand her understanding of humanity, Sidhvi seeks to immerse herself in cultures vastly different from her own. Her interest in the BOOKED Trips Morocco trip, in particular, stems from a desire to understand a variety of customs, cultures, and beliefs. She notes that this is integral to her practice as a future doctor and desire to better serve refugee and migrant populations, demonstrating Sidhvi’s commitment to addressing global inequities.

Sidhvi Nagapriya Reddy embodies the values that define the Maya Angelou scholarship: a dedication to service and a belief in the transformative power of cross-cultural understanding. We are confident that her journey will be both personally enriching and professionally transformative, and we look forward to the impact she will make as a future physician and global citizen.

HELP MORE WOMEN TRAVEL

When we opened applications for the Maya Angelou Travel Scholarship, we knew there was a need, but we were moved by the incredible response!

The sheer number of applications we received speaks to just how many women are eager for the opportunity to travel, connect, and immerse themselves in these transformative experiences. We received an outstanding 180 applications from 15 countries and 27 US states —from Lagos to London, Nairobi to New York. These women share a deep desire to see the world, connect with diverse cultures, and step into transformative experiences that will shape their personal and creative journeys.

Our goal is to raise $10,000 by the end of May 2025 to fund two additional scholarships, allowing more of the incredible women who applied to embark on a BOOKED Trip this fall and experience these life-changing journeys. We are launching this campaign so our greater community can come together to help more women be part of this transformative experience. Every donation, no matter the size, brings us closer to making this happen. If you believe in the power of travel to inspire, empower, and transform, we invite you to donate and share this campaign. Let’s open more doors for women to see the world—and, in doing so, see themselves in new ways. GIVE TODAY!