Photo Portfolio Sydney Ortiz

Kingwood Park senior Elijah Merino fights as he watches Dayton junior Jaxon Asbill pass him in the final few meters at the finish line for first place at the District Championships. Merino, who lost by .19 seconds this year, entered the race as the two-time defending champion. “I was hoping to create a gap early on,” said Merino, who finished with a time of 15:39.08. “I think Jaxon did really good with his strategy of staying back and going into the kick. I’ve never had a strong kick, so it was hard. But I think Jaxon definitely deserved that first place.”

In the last event in the boys UIL District 18-5A cross country meet, I was keeping close track of the Kingwood Park runner leading the race. The 5K was three loops around the course, and I moved around periodically to get photos of all the runners as they passed. I knew the race would be close between Kingwood Park's top runner and Dayton's top runner. As the last place runner ran in front of me, I moved to the finish line to make sure I could capture the finish. I squeezed between parents and found the perfect spot to shoot as the two boys ran elbow-to-elbow trying to gain an edge on one another.

Senior Maddy Miranda celebrates as she walks across the stage to get her diploma May 24. On graduation day, Miranda wore her state title cheer medal. She will cheer at TCU next year. "I was definitely feeling a large mix of emotions," Miranda said. "So much excitement, a little nervousness but overall very surreal in all. I remember thinking I wanted to look out into the crowd and really soak in the moment and celebrate while walking across the stage. I didn’t want to just walk on and grab my diploma then walk off. I wanted to remember it and have fun with it."

After the graduation ceremony speeches, it was time for the class of 2025 to walk the stage and get their diploma. I positioned myself to capture the graduates as they shook the hand of our principal. I had just taken photos of Maddy shaking his hand when I saw her start to celebrate as she looked into the crowd. I decided to follow her with my camera as she celebrated to capture the moment.

Sophomore Andrew Glover laughs with junior Selva Al Khalil at the NHS District leadership conference as they work together during a breakout sesson Feb. 19. Sophomores and juniors attended the district-wide leadership workshop to earn a required leadership point during the second semester.

After photographing multiple rooms filled with NHS students, I entered the room with Andrew and Selva. I started to walk around to shoot as many moments of Kingwood Park students as I could, and once I heard loud laughter I immediately turned around. I started shooting the pair as they continued to laugh for quite a while. The full-day leadership conference was geared toward uniting students and this picture showcased that goal.

Sophomore Aaven Andrews jumps over the second to last hurdle in the school's first shuttle hurdle relay during a home meet in the spring. She led her relay team to a victory.

A lot of the track runners were really excited about the first-ever shuttle hurdle relay. I decided I was going to shoot the inaugural event. I was able to be on the unused lane of the track as the girls raced. Aaven was the last girl to go in the race and she widened the gap. To capture her jumping, I knelt down and shot her as she cleared each hurdle.

Senior Zara West finishes the Silver Stars group dance routine by flourishing her pom-pom in the air. The dance was performed to AC/DC's "TNT" at the Go Gold pep rally on Sept. 6. "That was one of my favorite pep rally dances we've done," West said. "It was our first really DCC-inspired dance, so there was a lot of game day, a lot of collegiate-type dance, and I really like doing it."

At the Go Gold pep rally, the Silver Star dance team fired up the students in the stands. During the dance, I knelt to position my camera to not cut off body parts of the dancers. As the performance came to an end, I made sure to keep shooting as the girls basked in the applause from their peers.

Sydney Ortiz's Personal Statement