Portraits without Faces
Ashton is a man of many talents, most of them of the useful variety. He's a registered Amateur Radio operator, studies Spanish in BYU's language immersion housing as well as American Sign Language because both come in handy no matter where you are. Here he is signing 'doctor,' his profession of choice.
Dini loves soccer. He lives for soccer. He'll switch shifts with his coworkers and work Friday nights so he can play soccer longer on Friday afternoons. Perhaps the only thing he loves more than soccer is his homeland, Albania, and his family.
Erin is very thrifty, she tells me, not because she doesn't have expensive tastes, but because it forces her to be creative. That said, she doesn't skimp when it comes to apple juice. Ever. And yes, there is always apple juice in her fridge.
Everett is a smart aleck. He thought he was joking when he told me he'd describe himself as a potato, but I thought it fit him nicely. He complained that he'd screwed himself over after found out he'd be taking a picture with a potato, but that's typical of Everett too. Until recently every girl he'd asked out on a date always turned out to be engaged. But despite all that, he's still a champ.
Floyd is a philosopher--he likes to have meaning and significance in the things that he does. So, when he was thinking about proposing to his girlfriend he wanted to find rings with a lock and key motif because of the symbolism it would have.
Problem: Nobody makes them.
Good thing Floyd also likes to make things.
Hal is living proof that the intelligent janitor is not just a TV trope. When he has downtime at work he is at the computer doing research, either on The Book of Mormon, the nature of Kolob, or his family history. The wall above his desk is covered with his theories and findings, from Hopewell temple mounds in the Midwest to quotes and pictures of his family both past and present.
Hannah works in the prop shop at BYU, and loves it. She made this box before she got the job though, while she was directing "Merchant of Venice" with Utah Shakespeare in the Park. Like her, it's fun and sparkly, but not in a way that demands your attention.
This is me. I love old beat-up things in general, but especially when I know the history of it or it has some sort of special connection to me. This china cabinet in particular I got on a day that was a major turning point in my life, and has come to symbolize new beginnings, and the honest openness I want people to know me by.
Jocelyn is a go-getter, who has no trouble making herself heard when she needs to. Persistent and motivated, she has spent the last five months learning how to whistle--loud--like the guys where she works.
When Lindsey was small her mother would tell her bedtime stories about a many-colored elephant. Now in college, she still draws on the happy memories of those stories for comfort and motivation.
Nathaniel has many struggles, but having fun is not one of them. I went to visit him in his office where I thought he'd be working on his thesis. He wasn't. He was tabling (where you climb under and around to the opposite side of a table without touching any chairs or the floor).
Spencer loves birthdays and holidays, but especially Valentine's Day and Halloween. Why? Well, aside from being fun and an excuse to get together with friends and family and all that, there's chocolate! What more could you want, right?
