Chanda explains to me that she and her family had an eventful 4 years, the hardships of life but through it all they made it! She and her family were at the Durham Rescue Mission Victory program for a little over two years which helped her ignite a passion working with children. Now, she’s graduating and receiving a degree in Early Childhood Education at North Carolina Central University in Durham! Her inspiring story has touched my heart and for that I felt it was such a privilege and honor for me to photograph her senior portraits. Along with us was her daughter, Mikaelah, she’s a hoot! Such a sweet and funny girl! Made my job easy by making her mom laugh and comfortable in front of the camera. I’m glad I chose to do her session at NCCU since the location means a lot for her huge achievement, it’s a place where she will never forget, I also had a chance to walk with her in areas where she spent most of her time around the campus then had her pose for her photos, I noticed tears coming down her cheeks, I asked, “Chanda, are you cying?” “Yes,” she answered, “I’m going to miss these buildings, this school… this is where I worked so hard!”  Wow! I don’t think I can even describe it in words on how amazing it felt seeing and hearing her say that… but I just had to try to brush it off before I start crying with her and lose my focus working. So without further ado, here’s her senior portraits at NCCU, where it’s a place of her new beginning!