She laughed at Montana winters, challenging them in her springtime wardrobe.  She laughed at summers in Central America, facing them with her airy favoritism toward vacations.  When she dedicated herself to a sport she loves, she agreed with the training discipline it required with grit and grins.  When life brought dire challenges, she fought back to retain her sense of identity and valor.  When she doesn’t understand something, she shoves the mountain of ambiguity aside to conquer new wisdom.  Every once in a while I get to photograph a senior that I have seen grow through childhood, and this young lady is one of them.  The sheer number of achievements on her letterman jacket agrees with me.  And… She’s just plain fun to spend time with!

When a need arises, this senior is one of the first to raise her hand and volunteer.  What began as a simple need for more volunteers in the children’s program at church has turned into an interest in vocational ministry.  The woman overseeing children’s ministry took this young lady under her wing and mentored her as she recognized the joy that working with children brought.  The children likewise responded to that joy.  As she comes alongside her family when they need help, now this senior’s father and siblings come alongside to help her in this role.  Recognizing a sense of fulfillment in working with children’s ministry, she is using her senior year internship to teach Bible lessons in a half day elementary school program.

And can I brag about how fast she runs?  Ok… I don’t know for sure because running is faaaar from my forte.  But I know she loves it, and I know she continually exceeds expectations.  I know her coach is going to be very sad to see her graduate.  This senior girl is a humble winner, cheering more for her teammates than she does for herself.  In fact, there is a new girl on their team that has some incredible talent.  Rather than be jealous of sharing the spotlight, this senior is thrilled and impressed to be on the same team.

We planned her session to include her favorite things – running, her hometown, and… Wait for it… Her sister!  A few years ago you wouldn’t have been able to predict this, but there you have it! It was so much fun to have both of them for the whole afternoon (as well as my son, who tagged along as my assistant).  She suggested a local park, I was a big fan of the small town main square (which included awkwardly working around a couple on a date), and the coach arranged for us to have access to the high school track.  The sun was gorgeous and golden, and the smiles were infectious!

But you don’t have to take my word for it…

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