Skiers Gone Spunky

The sport of cross country skiing is often thought to be a sport of precision and grace. Unlike the popular opinion, there are many occasions when skiers are not so...proper. From the images above you can see how despite the image of beauty on skies, the reality is that they are truly competitors on and off the course. Whether it be skiing 50 kilometers or eating a banana cream pie as fast as possible, there are no limits to the enthusiasm that skiers poses. The feeling of winning a race is like none other that an athlete can experience, but winning a pie eating contest is yet another victory that can bring a smile to the face!

Skiing and Snowboarding with Partners Club

Growing up in Alaska there are many beautiful sites to see and things to do throughout the year. One of these exciting winter activities is downhill skiing and snowboarding. I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to coach these two sports through the Partners Club, which is a club where students with and without intellectual disabilities can come together for sports training and competition. Throughout the winter months I help individuals from the club learn how or further their skills in both skiing and snowboarding. This opportunity of coaching these athletes not only helps me to become a better leader, but it also gives me the opportunity to learn new things. One of the students in the club with who has an intellectual disability was able to teach me, a longtime skier, how to snowboard. Being able to step back and be taught rather then be the teacher helped me to look at this event as a way to not only help others, but learn something myself. As a hole this experience is one of service learning, where I not only get to give to others, but I acquire a new skill at the same time. These two photos help to capture the friendships between both the skiers and the snowboarders within our club.

Corners of Creation

Have you ever taken for granted the beauty that is portrayed from nature as well as man-made things? These three pictures are taken from the base of the Washington Monument in order to give a new perspective on a symbol that represents our country. When taking these photos I wanted to capture an image of a new face of this historical structure in order to give a new vantage point to the viewer. While I was crouched down and leaning against the monument, the clouds were moving at a decent pace and the monument was standing firm in the ground, it appeared as though the massive tower was about to topple onto me, the innocent photographer. This surprise was one that made me think of all the other things I take for granted in life, especially since I have grown up in such a marvelous place, Alaska. Overall this photo shoot of the monument was a great start to a day of touring the Nation's Capital.