Samantha Smith Challenge

300 students attend event

Thomas College was the location for the annual Samantha Smith Challenge where 300 middle school students gathered to share the artwork and civic engagement projects they’ve been doing. Artist Rob Shetterly’s latest subject of his portraits – Americans Who Tell the Truth Series was Kelsey Juliana. Kelsey is a 22 year old who has a landmark public trust case, Juliana v. US. She spoke with the students attending about civic engagement: “We have everything to gain from taking action and everything to lose from not.” Kelsey’s portrait was unveiled and added to the Americans Who Tell the Truth exhibit.

Americans Who Tell the Truth (AWTT), an organization that promotes civic engagement through its “Models of Courageous Citizenship”, a series of 240 portrait by Robert Shetterly, and the Maine Association for Middle Level Education (MAMLE) hosted the fourth annual Samantha Smith Challenge, an art, education, and civic engagement conference for Maine middle school students, at Thomas College on Monday, June 4.