Not only do I get to do a job that I absolutely love and am passionate about, but every now and again my heart grows extra sizes, even to my own surprise. On those times, it’s without anyone even having to say so, that I feel like I have made a difference for someone. That I gave an unexpected gift that meant something special. In those precious moments, my feelings of joy multiply……taking photos of Kate at her family home on the day of her virtual graduation from the University of British Columbia was one of those times.

Like so many stories from 2020 and 2021, a global pandemic meant that all in-person graduations would not take place. I can only imagine how surreal it must have felt for Kate and her family to celebrate 4 long years of Kate’s hard work and accomplishments by listening to Kate’s name being read aloud on a zoom screen, and then the moment was over. To have your family with you, yes, but none of your friends or roommates (or in Kate’s case, fellow golfers) present to cheer with you, no throwing your graduation cap in the air, and no formal graduation photos. Such big moments made bittersweet with moments of loss when milestones like these can’t be celebrated the way they always are……….in big gymnasiums or auditoriums with so much tradition, and music, and all the graduates filing one after the other in to their seats, with families straining their necks to find their special VIP.

Having daughters myself (one graduated, and one to graduate still), I thought about how I would feel, how much I would want to celebrate with my daughters and for my daughters, and how hard a moment like that would be for graduates and their parents, where nothing felt ‘normal’. And so I felt especially honoured and privileged that Kate’s parents asked me to come by and ‘take a few photos’ while Kate had her graduation cap and gown sent to her specifically for the day of her virtual graduation! I was grateful for all my recent practice taking head shots of my daughters in my backyard just for fun (and because I hadn’t taken shots of anyone outside my family for months and months)!!

It is incredibly special to be a part of memories like these in a family’s life. It will never get old for me. You couldn’t help but see just how proud Kate’s family is of her, and all that she has accomplished so far in her life, as they celebrated her graduation day with her! Complete with a beautiful bouquet of roses from her very proud mom and dad, and smiles all around, it seemed somehow that Kate’s backyard, surrounded by the people most important to her, was a pretty good stand-in for the mountains of British Columbia and a university campus filled with other smiling graduates and their families.

So………now it’s official! Kate is one of the newest graduates of the University of British Columbia! Celebrating Kate and her proud family (including Brady!) and wishing her everything the world has in store for her as she says thanks for the memories and so long to UBC!

Thank you Sheila and Craig for your friendship of many years and for asking me to capture photos of your precious daughter as you celebrate all her hard work over the last many years, including through these crazy times of covid, and as she takes off on her next grand adventure! Can’t wait to hear what the next chapter has in store for her!