On November 17, 2015, First Lady Michelle Obama awarded Spy Hop the nation's highest honor for youth arts and humanities programs: the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award.
Spy Hop is the first organization in the state of Utah to win the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award — and this award is for all of Salt Lake and Utah! It's for all current and past students, staff, board members, supporters and programming partners, and for everyone who believes in the power of youth creativity and voice, and in investing in our community.
Kitzia Rodriguez, a 19 year-old Spy Hop audio student, and Kasandra VerBrugghen, Spy Hop's Executive Director, represented Spy Hop at the White House award ceremony — and both are still beaming from the experience of meeting the First Lady.
Kitzia first walked through Spy Hop’s doors at the age of sixteen. She applied for and was thrilled to be accepted into Spy Hop’s Audio Apprenticeship Program. In the three years since, Kitzia has learned all aspects of sound engineering for film and music, enrolled at the University of Utah, and has now represented Spy Hop on the national stage.
While Kitzia’s recent experience was certainly unique among our students this year, she is just one of the nearly 2,000 students served by Spy Hop’s programs each year — and the honor presented by this award was just one of the many terrific achievements of Spy Hop and our students in 2015.
Support from the community is essential to both maintain and expand our media arts programming — and we need your help to reach our year-end fundraising goal of $20,000!
Please consider supporting Spy Hop’s students by making a one-time, tax-deductible donation, or joining the Spy Hop Crew by making a recurring monthly gift that provides ongoing support throughout the year.
Your support ensures that more students like Kitzia have the opportunity to explore their interests and creativity, learn the social and technical skills necessary for future success, connect and collaborate with peers, and engage with their communities. Please share this campaign with your family, friends and colleagues!
Thank you for your support!
