This is the episode Robin has been building toward for years. For a long time, the name Tara Gladden has appeared quietly at EMC Performing Arts Studio, on scholarship awards, in essays, in the hearts of students who've wondered about the girl behind the honor. Today, we finally tell her story. Robin is joined by her cousin Shawn Gladden, Tara's brother, for a conversation that is raw, honest, and long overdue. Tara Allison Gladden was a shy, gentle fifteen-year-old from Columbia, Maryland: a soccer player, an animal lover, a girl just beginning to find herself through dance. In the summer of 1993, she was murdered. But this is not a simple story about a teenage girl and a bad boyfriend. This is the story of a pedophile and sex trafficker; a calculating 26-year-old man who preyed on young girls at suburban malls, groomed Tara over months by making her feel seen and special, systematically turned her against her family, and ultimately silenced her when she found the courage to stand up to him. Shawn walks us through all of it: who Tara was before she disappeared from herself, the agonizing three weeks the family spent searching, the media circus, the reward fund raised on a median strip in the summer heat, the moment a neighbor's cruelty cut deeper than almost anything else, and the day they found out she had been there all along… on her sixteenth birthday. He also talks about what it cost him. What it cost his parents. What it does to a family when a chapter this devastating can never fully close. And then, what grew from it. The Tara Gladden Scholarship Fund began with the funds donated by Robin and her husband, Walter, was fueled by the reward money that was never paid out and has grown, with the help of the Columbia Foundation and a community that still remembers, into a living tribute that funds dance training for young women at EMC. The mission is simple and deeply personal: give girls the confidence, community, and sense of self-worth that Tara needed and didn't have when she was most vulnerable. This episode is not easy listening. But it is essential listening, especially if you are raising a daughter, teaching one, or trying to protect one. Donation Information If you'd like to honor Tara's memory and support young dancers in need, donations to the Tara Gladden Scholarship Fund are welcome. To apply for the scholarship, applications open each November. Website Let’s Connect on Socials: EMC Performing Arts Studio on Facebook EMC Performing Arts Studio on Instagram In The Spotlight: Raising Leaders in the Performing Arts on Facebook In The Spotlight: Raising Leaders in the Performing Arts on Instagram Interested in Classes at EMC? Learn More About Us Here
