In my first year as the CMU Leadership Institute event photographer, I got to see a lot of good moments. Students learning about themselves or the outside world, friends laughing and being silly together, mentors and mentees bonding for one of the first times, facilitators bringing the best out of their participants, speakers, and a LOT of icebreakers and activities. I got to come along on some of the Leadership Institute’s best programs and events and do one of my favorite things: photograph the moments that really count.
Throughout my work with the Leadership Institute, I got to interact with participants as well. It helped me to meet not only those within my own LAS program, but people who 
are involved throughout the L.I. It really widened my perspective on the people who walk among our campus, and the more events I photographed, the more I came to appreciate the students that walked among me, even if I didn’t know them. It really further emphasized to me that everyone has really great thoughts and ideas to bring to the table; that when you get a group of people together and start asking questions, there’s a lot that can get done. Of course, I saw this in my time as a student too, but something about the L.I. programs put it in a different light. And yes, most of these events I had already gone through as a participant, but when you’re a photographer just walking around and observing instead of participating, you see even more than you did the first time. As I reflect, this is all just a brief overview of what I got to see at my job.
I love my job. I love everything about it; the inspiration I get from the content I get to see,
as well as the people I get to photograph, are things that remind me how much I love being a photographer. I will always be thankful for my time as the L.I. event photographer, and I can’t wait to have another year there.
(See my work on my photography website, at emrosetakespics.com)
