Neshua Horne is my Bishop Maginn portrait of the week, and what a pleasure to meet her and get to know her a bit.

She is shy but articulate and Lerenia-Torrain, one of her teachers, says she is one of the best students she has ever had.

“She is always willing to help me,” she says of Nashea, “she helps others, she helps pass out papers, always positive, and always works hard.”

She is, she said, a straight-A student.

That is high praise from any teacher; I never heard it about me.

I started by asking Nashea what she thinks she wants to be down the road.

She is 15, a sophomore in her first year at Bishop Maginn High School, and says she is very happy there.

I know that most of these kids will change their minds a dozen times later, but I love to hear what they are thinking now.

“I love animals,” she said. She has two dogs and says she hopes to go to Africa to work on big animals like elephants and lions when she is a vet.

Is there a second choice?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said, if the vet thing doesn’t work out, I might like to be an architect in Texas.”

Texas? I wondered. Why Texas?

“Because they have a lot of big buildings there.” Wise.

One of the things I most love about my portraits is the window they give me into how these remarkable people think and how they see their future. I love how free they are to let their dreams roam and change.

The world is out there in front of them, and why not imagine different things? I am always touched to be reminded of how it feels to have so much future in front of you.

Nashea has a sweetness and courtesy about her, and yes, she is shy. She has two siblings, a brother, and a sister. I understand that I can be intimidating to a shy high school student with my camera and notebook and pen.

By now, they’ve all heard of me, but I work to lighten things up and proceed slowly.

I’ve gotten good at opening up the shy students who have never been interviewed.

Zinnia is my partner, we work together; shy students are a magnet for her, she always ends up licking their noses or their hands, and they melt.

I also reassure them that I would not hurt them and that their interviews will help the school raise money.  I want the outside world to know them as people, as I know them.

They all want to help the school, and we always end up in open and accessible conversations.

In addition, I ask them to think about what we can get that would help them follow their culture or schoolwork. I ask them what they love and try to support that.

Nashua works hard in school and also out of school.

So many of the Bishop Maginn children have jobs or volunteer to help the needy and the vulnerable. Neshea works after school every day in a program called Brighter Choice for 5th graders.

Bishop Maginn encourages their students to perform public service and gives them academic credit for service jobs. Many Catholic schools require public service.

Nashea loves music, and the Army Of Good is sending her a $75 Amazon Gift Certificate so she can buy the music she likes and books on architecture.

Right now, those are the two things she feels the strongest about.

I love to follow their dreams and share them.