Denise Smart, the mother of Kristin Smart, announced a new scholarship on the anniversary of her daughter’s disappearance. Kristin has been missing since Memorial Day weekend 1996.
The Kristin Smart Scholarship is funded by the nonprofit organization Justice for Kristin, which was originally founded to raise money for public awareness and increase the reward for information. Now, the family is switching gears and Justice for Kristin will be primarily used for a scholarship.
The monetary scholarship is available for college-bound women from San Luis Obispo and San Joaquin counties and is a “way to celebrate Kristin’s life, hopes and dreams — by empowering another student to pursue theirs,” according to the Kristin Smart scholarship website.
The ideal recipient will pursue a degree in law enforcement and/or forensic science, or be an architecture student interested in studying abroad. Kristin was interested in architecture, travel and learning about others. Finding somebody following a similar path would be the hopes of the Smart family, according to the website.
People, businesses and organizations can donate to the tax-exempt scholarship fund through the website. Smart would like to hand out at least $2,000 in scholarship funding.
Applications for the scholarship will be available January 2018 and will be awarded to the recipient April 2018. The scholarship amount will depend on how much money is raised.