Congratulations to MPS Art Therapy student, Hadar Arens, who has been named the recipient of the Sunrise Association's prestigious Virginia B. Toulmin Healthcare scholarship! This award helps prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals by providing educational support to students who have worked at Sunrise Association Day camps.

We recently caught up with Hadar, who shared a bit about her experience working at Sunrise Day Camps, and how her time there impacted her decision to pursue a career in Art Therapy:

"Sunrise Day Camp is a summer camp for children and adolescents with cancer and their siblings, free of charge. My summers working at Sunrise Day Camp have shaped the trajectory of my academic and professional goals in so many ways. For two years I was a yoga specialist and thoroughly considered campers' physical and emotional needs when implementing yoga activities to help them safely relax, connect with peers, and express themselves creatively. During Covid-19 it was important for me to use creative arts modalities to make the virtual camp yoga sessions more engaging. I relied on my resourcefulness skills and suggested campers use materials readily available around them. I strove to ensure that the campers felt seen and validated in the full range of their experiences and helped them know that they were not alone as they struggled with the impact of medical trauma.

I was most fulfilled when engaging in this meaningful work. Therefore, I decided to pursue a degree in Art Therapy where I would gain the expertise to further explore my passion for helping others through art. Most recently, I was the camp's photography specialist and saw firsthand the value in campers using art as an outlet to cope with and create meaningful connections with peers. My experiences and skills gained while working with children and adolescents at Sunrise Day Camp have been transferable to my hands-on work as an art therapist in training. It is a great honor to be a recipient of the Toulmin Scholarship at this stage in my academics as I move forward in my MPS Art Therapy degree at SVA. I will cherish the experiences I have had and the campers I have been honored to work with."