Before I even knew what Belvoir was, I was already a Belvoir girl. I was drawing since I could hold a pencil, and I was performing on stage since I could stand. As my mother was a printmaker, my love for fine arts developed early. Every Wednesday, I would spend the day with her in the studio, mixing inks and drawing pictures. My grandmother fostered my love for theatre, by taking me to shows and telling me old stories of her father’s experiences working on Broadway. My mother and aunt would since the Belvoir birthday song to each other, so when I would go to other birthday parties, I just thought we were all singing the shorter version of the REAL birthday song.

When I first stepped into Belvoir my Chalet 7 year, I was greeted happily by complete strangers, people I would later call my closest friends. Soon after, my summers were flying by, and not a moment I spent at camp was ever wasted. Every class and conversation was important in making me into who I am now. I have cherished every moment I’ve spent at Belvoir, and I will cherish all of the moments I hope to have there in the future.

Belvoir is such an exceptional place. It allows young women to flourish in their friendships and their passions for the arts, no matter their age or ability.  Belvoir cultivates young minds and is a breath of relief in comparison to some of the circumstances many girls deal with today. Belvoir holds a special place in my heart, and I hope I can continue to grow and expand in its spectacular environment as a member of Cottage ’19.  

Sophia

As a teenager in the 1980s, Belvoir Terrace was my happy place. Being around girls and teachers who loved and valued the arts as much as I did meant that I got to spend three formative summers learning and growing as a person and as an artist. Belvoir taught me to treasure my artistic pursuits, and expanded my understanding of the value and influence of the arts. Now, as an adult, I make my own paper and textile art, act and sing in community theater, and foster the development of an arts community in our small Texas city.  As a mother, I knew that my daughter Sophia was going to be a Belvoir Girl at the age of two; she loved fine art and theater in a way that affected how she saw the world and what her role could be within it. With the assistance of the Edna Y. Schwartz Scholarship Fund, Sophia has been able to have experiences unique to Belvoir and not available where we live.  It is now her happy place as well.

Taria, Sophia’s mom