Established on 07.03.2023 by Lenard W. Schmid
Taya Swenson Schmid spent many summers at Skogfjorden, first as a camper and then as a counselor. She studied at Camp Norway in Sandane, Norway, and pursued all things Norwegian throughout her life. Taya was born in 1968 in Dickinson, North Dakota, and grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota. She earned a B.A. from Smith College and an M.A. from Columbia University. She studied marine mammals in La Paz, Mexico, becoming proficient in Spanish. Taya loved to learn and loved to teach. After college, she worked as a production assistant at Magic School Bus in New York City. She moved to Minneapolis in 1999 and joined the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney as a graphic designer. In 2007, Taya married Len Schmid at the Minnesota Zoo in front of the dolphin tank. She was excessively fond of cats. She drew, painted, sewed, beaded, knit, played the cello and the piano, and sailed regularly on both lakes and oceans. She loved ladybugs, Darth Vader, ladybugs some more, and making people laugh. Skogfjorden and the lifelong friends she made there shaped the amazing woman she became. Taya died of metastatic breast cancer in 2023 at the age of 54. She would have loved knowing she was helping students spend time at Skogfjorden, the place she loved so much.
Gifts to the Taya Swenson Schmid Marihøne Endowed Scholarship support families with financial need in sending their kids to Skogfjorden, Concordia's Norwegian Language Village, to experience a summer of all things norsk! Tusen takk for your consideration in making a gift to this endowed fund in memory of Taya!
The purpose of the Fund is to distribute an annual scholarship award to provide encouragement and financial assistance to villagers who wish to attend any length youth session at Skogfjorden, the Norwegian Language Village at Concordia Language Villages. The Taya Swenson Schmid Marihøne Endowed Scholarship is awarded to one or more villagers based on financial need as determined by the Scholarship Awarding Committee of Concordia Language Villages.