“I acted in elementary school. In ‘Into the Woods‘, there’s a magical cow, and I was the cow. I was walking around in a cow suit with knee pads on all fours in fifth grade, and that was how I started my theater career.
I’ve been in theater since I was a freshman. My freshman year, I was in UIL One Act Play. I was [learning] online because of COVID-19, so it was really cool to actually come to school and meet people. That was my first exposure to Bellaire. At first, I was scared – man, all these tall kids – but it was a really good experience.
Later, I realized that it made me anxious to be on stage. I liked the theater community though, so I start[ed] working with the tech team. I worked in tech theater throughout middle school. We didn’t have great technology there, but I worked tirelessly to make a dinky lightboard [work] backstage. Now, we have a whole grand booth at Bellaire.
I’ve done less theater as I’ve [gone] through high school, but I’ve really picked up yearbook. This year, I decided to apply to be one of the head photographers. Having to work with photographers that are under me and communicating with them has helped me learn to manage [my temper] a lot better. It’s a big class, but we’re all really close. It’s a lot of fun to take pictures of and showcase Bellaire.

My first time going out on a photo assignment for Yearbook, I went to one of the first football games of the year, and I was just blown away by the quality of the [photos] I got. I shocked myself. What catapulted me to keep improving is [that] I had such a good first experience [taking photos].

My mom was really happy that I was pursuing photography. [She was] a big photographer when she was younger and always loved taking pictures of me and my family wherever [we] traveled. I actually use her old camera now. It’s a very solid camera, and I’m very grateful for it.
To be a good photographer, you really have to have an eye for what is going to be appealing and what is going to tell a story. It’s not all just black and white. I think you can teach that, but a lot of [it] is just instinct. When you finally get that picture you’re looking for, it’s great.
I’m definitely not an artistic person though, which is funny because I do theater and photography. I’ve always been more of a specific, detail-oriented person. I [use] my instinct, but [I] also follow rules. I’m going to [study] engineering in college. I’m great at working with things that I’m given, not creating things from scratch. I’m given a show; I can make a lighting or a sound design for it. I need a basis.
Engineering is busy and difficult, but if I have the time, I would like to participate in the tech teams, just to have that community and continue something that matters to me. A&M, LSU, Texas Tech and Colorado State all have theater programs. When I’ve gone on [college] tours, I’ve asked if I can participate [in the tech teams] on and off. The guides always say, ‘We’d love to have you.’ I would like to participate in yearbook in college too. A STEM major [with] these kinds of art [activities] is a little unusual, but I will 100% keep doing photography, even if it’s just as a hobby. I kind of want to get out of here. I’m excited to go to college.”