Dear Granny,
I hope you are doing well. I really miss seeing you. Hopefully I'll be able to come visit soon and we can sit down and have one of our long chats. I am happy to be finished with classes, but this summer, in addition to working I am also continuing my education through an internship program. This is the program I told you about.
The program has worked out better than I had imagined and I have been invited to be the first Imaging Foundation (a nonprofit 501 (c ) 3 organization) intern to accompany the team into the field. The Imaging Foundation is run entirely by volunteers, not one person is on salary or receives any compensation for the countless hours they donate. While my instruction is free, I need to raise my share of costs. I am contacting you and the rest of my family to share some of the program details and to request your help.
Several months ago, I met two professional nature photographers. Jay Ireland and Georgienne Bradley have done extensive work in the area, published myriad images, several books and are leaders in the America Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). They recently launched a nonprofit organization, The Imaging Foundation. The IF was founded on the premise that there is not enough high quality imagery available to students, teachers and other nonprofit organizations. These two professionals have donated usage of all their work and resources to this cause.
The two came over for dinner and we started discussing what they do, and what I have done in school. They reviewed my photographs from school and came across one including an American flag. Thank God for that picture! Georgienne looked at it and said "Oh my gosh!" She loved my work, and even though she lives in California, thought it would be good to keep in touch so she could add her professional advice to my educational growth.
Since so much photography is based on the computer, it was easy to work together long-distance. She loved the direction of my work and after only one week, she gave me an assignment. One of her clients produces calendars and she thought my flag images could be a perfect fit for their 2008 flag calendar. My task was to shoot American flags. I was stoked! Just the thought of possibly being published was just so extraordinary to me! Georgienne worked with me continuously. We had a lot of late nights and hours of sending pictures through e-mail. We just finished submissions and are waiting to hear back from the publishing house.
While the internship project at the Imaging Foundation is brand new, Georgienne Bradley has mentored over 100 students through her commercial company, Bradley Ireland Productions. While she has invited a few of her students on assignment, this is not a common occurrence. If I am able to pull this off, I will be the first Imaging Foundation intern AND the youngest intern to ever be invited on expedition. I will need to prove that Georgienne made the right decision in believing in me but I am up for the challenge. The internship program is divided into four parts. The first segment was all the photography training and work I have done with Georgienne. The second portion is the opportunity to go on location with the expedition.
With your help, I will accompany the team on their September trip to Indonesia. I will travel from here to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles I will meet part of the team and we will make the arduous 16-hour flight to Singapore. Arriving in Singapore, we will have a three-hour layover before transferring to a plane that will take the entire team to Manado, a small town on the Island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. There we will board the 120-foot vessel that will become our home for the next eight days. We will keep long hours and our mission will be to collect high definition film and top end photography. Evenings will be spent cataloging, identifying animals, and participating in educational strategy meetings.
During the day, I will be SCUBA diving and seeing all the behind the scenes details of what is required for a production (both for films and still photography)!
Now comes part three of the program. When we return home, I bring my experience back to my community. I will teach at least four seminars. These seminars will be held at my home, school, church and one other location. I want to encourage other students to reach for their dreams, as I am reaching for mine now. I never knew this type of experience was possible until I met with this group. I want to show other kids that there is a huge world out there with all types of opportunities and reasons to stay in school and work hard. Not only does this type of program give us hope, but it will also give other students like me the initiative to work hard towards a life goal.
The fourth phase of this program, will be to stay on and help the IF develop their internship program so other students can follow in my footsteps.
The total expedition expenses come to $6,142.50. That's a lot to ask for, huh? Georgienne and I have been working extremely hard on getting grants and donations. Because I am the first intern on this program, I am paving a new course. I have spent countless nights online planning ways to make money to cover this trip. I cannot guarantee that my goal will be achieved in the short time I have, but I can promise you I will try my hardest. I have written a proposal for partial funding from the ASMP, spoken with my priest, contacted the local nature photography clubs and the Kiwanis club. I am also working very hard at cleaning people's houses. I am also turning to my family. I am not asking for much. Even a donation of $20.00 will help SO MUCH.
I want this internship program to work more than anything. It is my chance to be recognized and to make a difference doing something I love! Not to mention it looks good on college applications! Please don't look at this as me asking for money to go on vacation. It's much more than that. I'm going to gain real life experience and give hope to other students that think they have no where to go.
We want this program to help not only me but other students like myself and younger generations as well. Even though my mom has told you almost everything, I can not wait to get together and talk about this once in a lifetime opportunity with you and Pop!
Love,
Kelsey
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