Selena Shilad was a part of the SMARTS community in the 1990s. Her passion for the arts stayed with her all of her life. To honor her we have collaborated with her family to create the Selena Shilad Scholarship for the Arts. This scholarship is being established so that cost will not be a barrier for other children to have this opportunity. 

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A message from her family:

"I cannot overstate how much this program meant to her or its impact on her emotional development. She was passionate about the arts, and continued to relate fond memories of SMARTS throughout her adult life." Additionally, what SMARTS offered Selena (and her brother, Justin) was an opportunity to be in a supportive environment for a few weeks every year. What I mean by that is that Selena (and Justin) were artistically oriented children in a town/school system that placed much more value on sports and athletics, causing them to feel like misfits at times. SMARTS gave her permission to express herself without judgement from supportive teachers and peers in an emotionally and artistically supportive (and fun!) environment. This allowed her to thrive artistically and emotionally and feel less like an oddball throughout her life."