Her work: Yearbook sales and service for Lifetouch National School Studios. She’s worked for Lifetouch as a photographer and sales rep (in Chattanooga and Augusta, Ga.) for a total of six years. “I’m basically responsible for getting new business for our company and territory, as well as taking care of current customers. Put like that, it doesn’t sound like a whole lot of work, but it is.”

Why she likes her work: “I’m out and about, and I get to meet new people every day. Every day is different.

On photography: “I don’t really know where my interest in it came from, but whenever I went on trips with my family or church, I’d have my camera and look for things to take photos of. I took photography class in high school, and I studied on my own by reading photography books and experimenting with landscapes and portraits. I have two brothers, and I made them be my models. And then, of course, I learned even more once I came to work for Lifetouch.” Although she doesn’t photography for the studio as much as she once did, she still shoots as needed during prom and senior portrait seasons. “I like doing casual portraits best. There’s more flexibility as to how creative you can be. It’s tough to be in a creative zone and stuck on a formal cameral. There’s only so much creativity you can use in a head-and-shoulders shot.”

On yearbooks: “It’s like a scrapbook of memories about what happened during a year. A yearbook preserves memories and serves as a reference book to people you haven’t seen in 10 or 20 years. It means more as you get older. Children don’t realize it at the time, but it’s fun to look back later at pictures of when you did this or that and remember what you and all your friends looked like with the silly clothes and hairstyles.” She still has her old yearbooks. “They’re at my mother’s house. She still sees people I went to school with, and she calls to tell me she’s talked to them and about what they’re doing now and how many children they have.”

Her hometown: Harlem, Ga., near Augusta. “It’s a very, very small town. There’s one high school, one middle school, one elementary school, and one traffic light. To me, Chattanooga is a big city by comparison.”

What she likes about Chattanooga: “The convenience. I love the accessibility to everything. It’s not a terribly large city, but it’s big enough that there are plenty of things to do, and I like being five minutes from the office, the mall, or the grocery store.”

In her spare time: “I try to catch a movie here and there, and I’m trying to work out, so I’ve joined a gym. I work occasionally at Express for Women at Hamilton Place. My parents and the guy I’m dating live out of town, and visiting them takes up a lot of my free time.”

Her favorite movie: “Grease. I have it on DVD, and I have the soundtrack.” Another favorite is Gone With the Wind, and she’s partial to horror films. “I don’t like slasher movies, like Jason and Freddy, with no plot, just killing people, but I like something that’s scary and suspenseful. One that I saw recently was The Ring, which was supposed to be really scary. My little brother saw it and told me he was afraid to go back to his dorm room after dark. When I saw it, I was disappointed it didn’t scare me more.”

The last book she read: “I love to read, but I haven’t done it lately as much as I’d like to. Probably the last thing I read was Gone With the Wind. I’ve read it over Christmas break the last four or five years in a row.”

Her taste in music: “My preferences aren’t limited to one style of music. Techno, alternative, rap, classic rock and roll…it depends on what mood I’m in. Country is definitely a no, and I usually keep a Top 40 station on in the car.” She’s enjoyed attending local concerts at Rhythm and Brews and in the Nightfall series.

Her favorite meal: “A chicken chimichanga with all the fixings: guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream. I love Mexican food.”

Her personal style: “I don’t know that I have one particular style, but if I’m going anywhere except the gym, I’m dressed up. You might see me out in jeans, a t-shirt, and flip-flops, but that would be very rare.”

Her greatest accomplishment: “I don’t think I’ve accomplished it yet. Up to this point, though, I’d say that my greatest accomplishment is being where I am now. Considering that I did not go to college, I’m very glad to be in a position where I can grow and that someone saw potential in what I had and could offer.”

Advice she appreciated: It was offered by Lifetouch territory manager Earl Storey. “He said something when I was debating about moving into yearbooks about how fate isn’t something that just happens. It’s when chance and opportunity meet. That stuck in my head. It makes you think about things in stages of your life, how they happen because of the right timing and opportunity.”