Q. Please provide the first names of your family members: parents, siblings and pets.

A. Sean (dad), Meghan (mother), Julia and Bridget (sisters).

Q. As a senior, do you have any specific goals you will pursue this academic year?

A. Yes, I hope to grow my Creative Sports Photography to as many facets and areas of sport as possible. I hope to push myself to grow my skills to prepare me for college. I hope to keep up my work in school while also getting as good at photography as I can.

Q. What is your favorite class at Emmaus High School? Why?

A. My favorite class this year is humanities. I love the atmosphere of such a big and diverse class that I know I have every day. I really enjoy getting to work with four different teachers on topics that all connect together at times. I also love how the class brings together all different kids from the school – sports, English, science, social studies, music, theater, etc. – we all have the same class and interact. There is a ton of group work so it doesn’t matter who you are, we all interact, which I think makes it really special.

Q. Have you received any special awards or recognition?

A. I have received two third place awards in the Balfour Great Shot photo contest in the past year – one for a baseball photo and one for a field hockey photo. I also received a Student of the Month Award and the Mu-Cal Gupta Award in middle school. I was accepted into PMEA District and Regional Choirs both sophomore and junior year. I have won numerous awards for piano, along with a Geometry Award freshman year and a School Spirit award and another academic award sophomore year. I also have an AP Scholar award and am a band club historian.

Q. Are you involved in any extracurricular activities? How has being involved in these organizations impacted your high school experience?

A. Yes. I am involved in yearbook (head of photography and equipment), marching band, Chorale, Fermata Nowhere, theater, piano lessons, graphics club, Lehigh Valley Photography Club (local chapter of the Photography Society of America), photography outside of yearbook and Symphonic Band. These organizations, mainly yearbook, marching band and choir/theater, have given me chances to meet people and let me find some of my best friends. They have impacted my experience greatly as I have learned so much but also found challenges and things to do outside of just my schoolwork to keep my school year interesting. Yearbook is also responsible for helping me find my passion in photography and giving me a great place to try new things and learn.

Q. What do you consider your biggest challenge to date?

A. I think my biggest challenge to date has definitely been trying to manage my time during the musical season junior year. Working around AP and Honors classes workloads while also having many music ensembles, a yearbook team to lead and get photos with and musical rehearsals for hours every day after school was definitely my biggest challenge to date.

Q. At this time, what are your plans for the future beyond high school?

A. My plans beyond high school are to go to college for something in the engineering field, while also continuing photography. I plan to join a media/marketing team for the college that I attend and grow as a sports photographer while doing something that is my passion.

Q. If you could spend an evening conversing with a historically significant person, whom would you choose? Why?

A. If I could spend an evening with a historically significant figure I would have a chat with Peter McKinnon. He is not only the person who got me interested in photography, but I feel like I am constantly learning from his videos and would love to chat with him, unfiltered, to pick his brain on how he approached photos and gets so much out of similar equipment to what I use. He is a Canadian YouTuber/FileMaker – one of the biggest, more influential people in the photography space and I would love to have a conversation with him.

Q. For what would you like to be remembered?

A. I want to be remembered as not only one of the best photographers in my field, but also as a personal photographer who made a great impact through my photos.

Q. Do you have any advice for your peers?

A. Try everything. You don’t know and can’t know what you might end up enjoying or find your passion if you don’t try anything. Even if it seems stupid or unpopular, try everything. That’s how I found photography and how I want to keep learning. Don’t give up on yourself or something you enjoy just because it’s not popular or won’t be accepted by the people around you.