Tara Schoen is thrilled to be here in Houston, Texas and help lead more opportunities for girls to play the great sport of lacrosse. A native of the northeast, she was named a two-time first team All American lacrosse player, all American swimmer and academic all American during her high school career in Darien. Throughout her senior year, Tara was heavily recruited by nearly ever top division 1 program for lacrosse. She enjoyed getting to visit various campuses around the nation such as Duke, Stanford, Princeton and Georgetown. After all of her visits, Tara realized that her heart was set on playing in the Ivy League and attending Harvard University. She then went on to play at the varsity level for all four years and set the tone quickly as the leading scorer in goals in just her freshman year. Aside from athletics, Tara pursued a major in Government studies, was greatly involved in services activities, orchestrated numerous fundraising events across campus, and loved spending time enjoying Boston with friends.
Following a very memorable graduation from Harvard University, Tara decided to forgo coveted job opportunities in the financial industry to pursue her greatest passion -- helping others. She was accepted into the highly competitive Teach for America program and set off to Atlanta, Georgia where she worked relentlessly to make a difference in the community she was assigned to. Tara worked hard at her school and throughout the Atlanta community to share her vision on educational policy; she was asked to be the honorary speaker at the city's annual board of education meeting, invited to work her summers for the state senator on Capitol Hill, and was even awarded the honor of 2010 Teacher of the Year. Tara incorporated a non-profit organization, Girls Got Dreams, to help bring free athletic practices and inspirational opportunities to the young girls at her school who could not afford to be part of sports teams. For months, Tara lead free lacrosse practices, put together fun outings such as professional sporting events, and even planned a legendary holiday party in which over thousands of gifts were donated to the children she worked with. After completing her commitment with Teach for America, Tara relocated to the great city of Houston, Texas to continue her service initiatives by joining the KIPP: Knowledge is Power Program. She currently resides in Houston and teaches at a KIPP Charter School located in the Galleria area.
Besides elevating others through an education, Tara absolutely loves sharing her joy for sports and experience with the game of lacrosse to young players eager to learn. Tara has partnered with Houston Youth Lacrosse with her creation of the Texas LAXgirl program. This program will create avenues for lacrosse instruction, opportunity and game play specifically for new players ranging from 3rd to 6th grade. These camps, clinics and select teams run by Texas LAXgirl, will give new players the opportunity to not only learn, but hone their lacrosse skills before middle school, high school, and even collegiate level competition.
