Documenting Pride, Discipline, and Belonging at Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Charter School
In December, I spent time at Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Charter School in Milwaukee, creating HFCA photographs that focused on more than events or athletics. I photographed the majorette dance team, girls basketball, JV boys basketball, and varsity boys basketball with the intention of documenting pride, discipline, and belonging—images that reflect what it feels like to be part of a school community where students are seen, challenged, and valued.
I photographed the majorette dance team, girls basketball, JV boys basketball, and varsity boys basketball. But this work wasn’t about covering events or creating content. It was about documenting pride, discipline, and belonging—and creating images that communicate, you matter here.
Photography, at its best, doesn’t just record what happened.
It preserves how it felt to be part of something meaningful.
More Than Sports or Performance
Athletics and performance groups play a powerful role in shaping student identity. The focus of a varsity player before tipoff. The precision and confidence of the majorette team. The way teammates look to one another for affirmation and accountability.
These moments deserve more than quick snapshots. They deserve to be photographed with intention—carefully composed, respectfully lit, and created with an understanding of what they represent.
That approach is the same one I bring to my family portrait work. Whether I’m photographing a parent and chil
d or a student athlete mid-stride, the goal is the same: to honor people with dignity and create images that last.
The Legacy Behind the Name
Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Charter School is named after Dr. Howard Fuller, a nationally respected educator, civil rights leader, and longtime advocate for educational equity. Dr. Fuller served as Superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools and later as a distinguished professor at Marquette University, where he focused his life’s work on justice, opportunity, and the belief that schools should be places where students are truly seen and supported.
That legacy matters.
When a school carries a name rooted in purpose and leadership, the way its students are represented matters too. Photography becomes one small—but meaningful—way to reflect the values a school stands for.
You can read more about Dr. Fuller’s life and work or read his book, No Struggle, No Progress.
Why Charter School Photography Matters
Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Charter School exists to prepare students not only academically, but personally—to step into the world with confidence, purpose, and a strong sense of self. That mission matters.
At its best, charter school photography isn’t about promotion—it’s about representation, dignity, and creating images that reflect who students are becoming. The way schools choose to visually document their students matters too.
When photography is done thoughtfully, images become more than files or promotional materials. They become artifacts of identity—photographs students and families can look back on and say, this was a place where I belonged.
The Role of Photography in Preserving Legacy
Schools shape lives. Photography helps preserve that story.
Years from now, these images will remind students of who they were becoming in these moments—of the discipline they built, the pride they carried, and the community that surrounded them. That kind of documentation has value well beyond a single season.
I’m grateful to have spent time at Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Charter School and to have witnessed the focus, heart, and excellence their students bring into every space they enter.
You can learn more about the school and its mission at https://hfca.org.
Learn more about my work here.
