SDSU alum Myah Selland wins Gatorade Community Impact Award for her work with Her Turn

Jackrabbits' basketball alumni Myah Selland is no stranger to winning awards.

She won the Summit League Player of the Year award twice in 2021 and 2023. She took home Gatorade Player of the Year in 2017 and the WNIT All-Tournament MVP in 2022, but being recognized earlier this month by Gatorade for her work with the nonprofit she co-founded with Jackrabbits teammate Tori Nelson called Her Turn, tops her long list of accomplishments.

“This is just more fulfilling because it (shows) that we're more than basketball players,” Selland said.  “I think that's something that we all kind of are trying to find throughout college. We love basketball, we love playing sports, but there's more to life than that.”

Her Turn

Her Turn is a scholarship program that provides opportunities for young girls within the Brookings community, who may not have the chance otherwise, to attend SDSU sports camps free of charge.  Selland and Nelson also want to ensure the girls who receive the scholarships have the opportunity to experience what it's like to be on a college campus, build relationships and interact with positive female role models. The nonprofit strives to reduce barriers families commonly face in sports such as lack of equipment or transportation.

Selland and Nelson said on the Jackrabbits Illustrated podcast the cost of one of their scholarships is about $500. That cost includes the price of the camp and a gear bag with cleats or any other gear the recipient may need for their specific camp. They also provide twin XL sized bedsheets for the dorm beds and snacks.

The Gatorade Community Impact Award

Selland said she was eligible to apply for the Gatorade Community Impact award because she’d been named a Gatorade Player of the Year in the past. Within a week of applying, she received the news she won.

Selland and Nelson both flew to Los Angeles to accept the award at the Gatorade Player of the Year awards ceremony on July 11 and they were invited to attend the ESPYs. The pair said being in Los Angeles and attending the ESPYs was a fun, unique experience for them. They had the opportunity to walk the red carpet, join in celebrating this year's best moments and maybe most memorably, people watch some of the athletes they grew up admiring, Nelson said.

Her Turn was awarded $25,000 as part of Gatorade’s commitment to supporting charities dedicated to advancing equity in sports.

“We're just really excited about what a grant of that size can do for our organization and for the sustainability of our organization,” Selland said.

Aside from the grant money, the award was an affirmation to Selland and Nelson the work they’re doing with Her Turn matters.

“It just kind of brings credibility to our organization as well,” Selland said. “Companies like Gatorade see our organization as worthy of a grant like that.”

The Future of Her Turn

In 2022, Her Turn provided nine scholarships to middle school girls. In 2023, they've doubled that number and even had some returners, a sign the students enjoyed their camp experiences, Nelson said.

Now, with the $25,000 grant from Gatorade, they’ll have the funds to provide plenty more. Selland and Nelson said they haven’t decided how they’ll use the money yet, but they’re sure most of it will go toward the camp scholarships they provide in the Brookings area.

They’ve had ongoing discussions about expanding their program to include the communities surrounding Brookings, and they hope that's something they can do in the future.

"Brookings isn't the only community that faces challenges in sports participation, so we'd love to just continue to expand our scholarship program, continue offering more scholarships to more students and more communities," Selland said.

They want to continue to grow, but they also want to be mindful of growing in a way where they’ll be able to manage what they’re undertaking, Nelson said. She said they don’t want to focus on growing so much that they no longer provide the best experience for the girls.

Selland will move from Brookings to Spain as she pursues her professional basketball career, but she expects to still be heavily involved with Her Turn virtually.

Even with all the changes and growth opportunities on the horizon, Her Turn’s goal remains the same and Nelson expects it to stay that way.

“If we have one girl who goes to camp, and she has the most amazing time − let's say she never plays basketball again, but that camp still made a positive impact in her life in some way − then I would take that as a success,” Nelson said. “If you asked me five years later, I think that would be my answer.”

Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at jfernandez1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFERN31.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: SDSU women's basketball player wins Gatorade Community Impact Award