This year, the advanced photography class is partnering with the city of Burlingame to photograph local events. The project gives students the chance to accumulate professional experience and connect with their community.

“By photographing so many different kinds of events, they’re going be exposed to know what the community values, what’s new and in development,” advanced photography teacher Alex Hemmerich said.

Hemmerich added that the collaboration benefits both sides: students learn about the community, and the city sees itself through their eyes.

“It benefits the city, because they really get to interact with the local community, so like the student population,” Hemmerich said.

Since advanced photography is a Career Technical Education class, Hemmerich said professional skills extend beyond the classroom. By photographing city events, students can apply what they learn in real situations. In class, they learn how to use a camera and photo editing software.

“They get exposed to the community’s culture, and they get professional skills. They learn how to collaborate, communicate, work with clients, and again, just hone their photographic skills,” Hemmerich said.

Junior Delaney Melo is one of the students working with the city of Burlingame. She said the photos will be posted on the city’s website and social media, including Instagram. In September, she had the chance to speak in the city hall.

“It would be a really awesome opportunity to actually put all of our skills to use and to sort of give back to the city,” junior Delaney Melo said. “The place that kind of allowed us to get to this point in the first place.“

For Melo, the opportunity has allowed her to step outside of the classroom and consider pursuing photography in the future.

“It has definitely kind of opened up my horizons on what I think I could do, like photography as a career, and sort of this is something that I can do now to kind of kick start that process of getting into the field, and it also has made me value, like, how connected we are as a community,” Melo said.

Melo, one of the students involved in starting the advanced photography class, said she feels excited about the program growing.

“Working with Mr. Hemmerich and a couple of other students to make advanced photography a thing, and then now seeing it really take off… It’s a really cool thing to see, and it’s kind of come full circle,” Melo said.

For Hemmerich, it is rewarding to see his students grow and have their work recognized by the city and the community.

“To be a teenager, to be in high school, and you’re working with a city, having your work shown and validated, I think it’s a huge thing,” Hemmerich said. “So I’m happy because my students are gonna be happy.”