True passion is what drives your motives, makes you who you are. Often, it takes over your life, until it is all that you think about.
For senior Sarah Sharp, that passion is photography.
“I love photography because it allows you to see the simple things in a unique way. In order to be good at photography, you have to have the mindset of always looking for pictures around you because there are pictures everywhere, you just have to be really observant.”
Sharp is constantly looking for beauty all around her; whether it is something she sees outside of her car, in photography class, or just the people at school event, she can see beauty in everything.
On her website, photography teacher Elizabeth Tompkins states that taking photography is a privilege, where one can learn valuable photography skills such as “the development of a portfolio, lighting, people skills, meeting habitual deadlines, and advanced shooting techniques.”
Tompkins commented, “Sarah always had potential from Photo I as she walked in the door, but her shooting is more refined [now] and she has definitely gotten better and stronger.”
Recently, Sharp’s skills have qualified her to receive a large amount of scholarship money from the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design just outside Denver, Colo.
“I got $19,000 for my scholarship, and it’s renewable. That covers basically all of my schooling, except books and boarding.” This was no ordinary feat. Tompkins shared that photography scholarships are “not super common like with an academic scholarship, where we have dozens of those every year. Sarah’s situation is [pretty] unique.”
“In order to qualify for the scholarship,” explained Sharp, “I presented my portfolio which consisted of my top ten photos. The people there compared my portfolio to the others that they had seen throughout the country and then worked me into the scholarship.”
This scholarship has put Sharp one step ahead of her peers. With much of her college education already paid for, she will be free after college to start whatever career she chooses.
“I plan on either creating my own photo business and being a mom, or becoming a photojournalist.”
Both of these options offer Sharp what many strive for, but never achieve: a chance to become exactly what you want and love every minute of it.
Sharp has found her passion, her obsession. She has let it envelop her life, and now, her future.