About Her Turn
Mission
Her Turn strives to inspire and enable girls to reach their full potential in sport and life through expanded athletic opportunities.
Vision
We envision a future where every girl has equal access to athletic opportunities, the confidence to compete, and the support to thrive through sport.
Core Values
Empowerment
Advocacy
Gender Equity
Mentorship
Inclusion
Our Why
The importance of participating in sports at a young age cannot be overstated, especially in young girls.
Unfortunately, girls face unique challenges in sports participation. Statistically, they have fewer opportunities to get involved, are less likely to play in the first place, and are much more likely to drop out earlier if they do. On the contrary, girls who do have the opportunity to participate in sports reap benefits such as improved mental and physical health, and learn valuable lessons pertaining to hard work, collaboration, and teamwork.
Despite the empowering benefits of sports, participation continues to be more and more burdensome on families. Sport experiences are expensive, time-consuming, and often require special equipment. That is where Her Turn comes in.
We believe Her Turn can provide a platform to uplift the young girls in our community and empower them to be the leaders of tomorrow.
Benefits of Athletic Involvement:
✓ Develop Leadership Skills
✓ Improve Mental Health
✓ Improve Physical Health
✓ Foster Relationships and Friendships
✓ Boost Self-Esteem
✓ Improve Time-Management Skills
✓ Build Healthy Habits
✓ Expand Future Opportunities
✓ Learn Value of Hard Work
✓ Academic Success
✓ Learn Value of Teamwork
✓ Overcome Adversity
Each year, it is estimated that boys receive 1.13 million more sport opportunities than girls.
Women’s Sports Foundation
80% of female fortune 500 CEOs played sports in their formative years.
UN Women
By age 14, girls drop out of sports at twice the rate than boys.
Women’s Sports Foundation
Our Story
We are Tori Nelson and Myah Selland, former members of the South Dakota State University Women’s Basketball team in Brookings, South Dakota. Our passion for athletics began early in life as we grew up surrounded by families and communities who supported us and fostered our love of sports. Because of this, we had opportunities to attend camps, develop our skills, and ultimately be recruited to play Division I basketball. The positive impact of athletics in our lives has been immeasurable and that’s why we created Her Turn, a non-profit organization that grants scholarships to young girls to attend sports camps in the Brookings community.
2021
2022
As two Division 1 athletes who were both passionate about women’s sports, we were reminded of our platform in the community during the NIL era. We began to dream up Her Turn from our living room couch. After dozens of community conversations, we developed the concept of a scholarship program to give young girls access to the same opportunities that shaped our own athletic careers.
We officially launched Her Turn in February of 2022. We shared our vision with the community and began our fundraising efforts. Our vision became a reality and we awarded nine scholarships in our first summer. We also started our Her Turn Game initiative.
2026
2024
2023
By 2024, our co-founders had both graduated from SDSU. As we transitioned into new personal adventures, we reimagined our organization’s structure for sustainability. We awarded 24 total scholarships and launched our first Day of Giving celebration.
Meeting community need, we again awarded 30 scholarships. We expanded our sport offerings and had our very first wrestling campers! We are created and launched Her Turn’s Playbook: A Guide to Youth Sports.
2025
We continued to grow by doubling our scholarship program and awarding 18 scholarships. We also launched our Ambassador Program, engaging more SDSU athletes in our mission. Her Turn also received national recognition with a $25,000 Gatorade Community Grant and an invitation to the ESPYS.
We awarded 30 scholarships, many of which were repeat recipients who look forward to camp each summer. We expanded gear bag offerings and provided a Her Turn Power Up nutrition guide to each recipient and her family.