During my MA work, I was fortunate to be a graduate mentor on art education research trips in India and Nepal.

While hiking in the Khumbu region of the Himalaya, I developed questions about holistic education and ecology—which eventually spilled into my MA thesis.

We observed teachers and students in high altitude schools, in dim Buddhist monasteries, in Tibetan refugee communities, and in crowded urban cities.

Photography became a tool for me to engage with the people around me. The camera helped me to break down barriers and open conversations.

Obviously, there can be big problems with photography in these types of scenarios. Images created by foreigners could be viewed, rightly, as voyeuristic and fetishizing. 

I view the camera primarily as a vehicle for social interaction and communication.