This year's recipients of the Kristin Smart Scholarship include young women from high schools in Morro Bay, Arroyo Grande, and Stockton.
The scholarship was created to honor Smart, who was a 19-year-old freshman architecture major at Cal Poly when she disappeared from campus 25 years ago.
Each year, the scholarship is awarded to four female students from San Luis Obispo and San Joaquin counties who have an interest in architecture, international relations, or law enforcement.
The 2021 recipients are:
Karlaine Francisco
Stockton Early College Academy, 4.67 GPA; attending U.C. Berkeley in the fall
Career Interest: Architecture and Ethnic Studies
Active in School Leadership and JournalismCommunity Outreach Volunteer
Kaylee Garcia
Morro Bay High School, 4.33 GPA
Career Interest: Forensic Science
4 Year High school athlete, multiple leadership roles in school and the community
Madelyn Nall
Arroyo Grande High School, 4.4 GPA; attending U.C. Irvine in the fall
Degree Interest: Law Focus with focus on Systemic Discrimination
Active in Student Government, Marching Band and a Community Outreach Leader and Volunteer
Anh (Annie) Nguyen
St. Mary's High School, Stockton, 4.4 GPA; attending Yale in the fall
Degree Interest: International Relations
Founded the Education Initiative, Interest in Community Outreach and Political Activism
"Nothing is more important than knowing that my sister's life continues to have purpose and meaning," said Matthew Smart, Kristin's younger brother. "While we realize we cannot change the past, we can ensure Kristin's legacy lives on by providing opportunity, through the gift of scholarship, for other young women to follow their dreams, in the way that Kristin had hoped to live out hers."
To learn more about the Kristin Smart Scholarship or to donate, visit www.KristinSmart.org or text KSS to 91999.
