Skye Alexia Fisher is deeply committed to community engagement, equity, and youth empowerment. Over the past year, she has been involved in community service initiatives at Cornell University, including writing letters to incarcerated individuals. This experience broadened her understanding of the criminal justice system and deepened her awareness of how systemic inequities impact marginalized communities.
Skye has also supported RedRose: Project Kenya, an organization her mother has been involved with since 2012. Since 2017, Skye has assisted her mother and other community members in efforts to support women and children in Kenya, helping to raise awareness and contribute to initiatives that address education, poverty, and access to resources.
For the past four summers, Skye has interned with a downtown experimental theater company, where she has worked with young people ages 12–18 from diverse racial, socioeconomic, gender, and sexual identities. She has guided students in acting exercises while primarily focusing on building confidence, fostering inclusion, and creating safe, supportive creative spaces.
Last semester, Skye studied abroad in London, where she experienced diverse cultures and observed how youth movements shape social change. Traveling throughout Europe expanded her worldview and strengthened her desire to apply global perspectives to her work in the United States.
Being an MLK Scholar means recognizing that my lived experiences with racism and prejudice are not limitations but motivations; it pushes me to ensure that my community is remembered, heard, and properly educated about the issues of poverty and inequality that shape our society. The scholarship gives me the tools, encouragement, and responsibility to keep learning every day and to actively work toward meaningful change.