Graduation Portraits

My father born in San Diego was the first Sanchez to obtain a college degree. This accomplishment brought pride to him and to the name. On my moms side a similar story. My mother, her sister, and her brother, all who were born in Tijuana, were the first in their bloodline to complete a higher education. From a young age the importance of a degree was instilled in me and how it changes your life as well as those of your family. Although I dropped out of community college, the struggle and sacrifices from the past on both sides of my family allowed me the luxury to pursue art and my creative endeavors.

While I never completed even a 2nd year of Juco I still appreciate higher education and what it stands for. Every time I'm able to take someone's grad photos I'm so incredibly proud of them and what they were able to overcome. In every person I pose, I see my own family in them. My dad who bought a house, my mom who helped support the rest of the family in Mexico, my Auntie who started her own in a great home and my Uncle who became a university professor in TJ. Every graduate I photograph with their own goals and unique north star. Something Im honored to document for them and for their family.

Providing these graduates with a token of what they've accomplished, and reminding of what they still have yet to conquer, is something that fills me heart so much that words cant describe.