Most people in Brookings, South Dakota know Spencer Eiseman as a soccer star at Brookings High School from the graduating class of 2011. In a town Spencer says is a, “last name kind of town”, everyone knows that Spencer has two sisters, one brother, and two cats. People in Brookings know that in high school he played on the soccer team and ran for the track team. However, while Spencer loved soccer, he also had another love not everyone in the close community of Brookings may know about. Now a Junior at Morningside College, Spencer is best known for his photography and artistic talents.
Spencer has played soccer since he was four years old. He played on school teams and on Sioux Falls club teams. Soccer was a very important part of Spencer’s life into his Sophomore year of college. However during this time he began to develop problems with his lungs. After multiple trips to the doctor’s office it was still unclear what was going on with Spencer’s lungs. Due to his medical complications Spencer quit playing soccer for Morningside College, so not to worsen the problem. This left room in Spencer’s life for a new passion. The passion which filled the spot was photography.
Spencer has been taking photographs for much longer than his two plus years at Morningside College. Throughout High School he took as many art classes as he could fit into his schedule, often spending four to five hours a day in the art classrooms. Spencer found a mentor in is art teacher Mr. Livingston, who became Spencer’s favorite teacher at Brookings High School. While a Junior in High School Spencer knew he wanted to more seriously pursue art. While Spencer started with disposable cameras when he was younger, he knew that he had a knack for framing a picture. He took more photography classes in High School and ended up falling in love with the world of photography. Now at Morningside College photography is one of Spencer’s majors and a large part of his life.
Within this last year Spencer has gone through a lot with quitting soccer and unclear medical problems. He has since found some resolution with these issues. At one point Spencer only knew that he had nodules on his lungs. Later he was diagnosed with Sports Induced Asthma. While Asthma hinders Spencer’s lung functions it will not stop him from playing soccer or other sports ever again. This is great knew to a guy who loves to play sports. In his time away from soccer he began more seriously playing volleyball. So much so, that he has started a men’s volleyball team at Morningside College.
Spencer has come a long way from the kid who spent his days in the art classrooms of Brookings High School. He has created a very successful life at Morningside College where he is involved in multiple student organizations and has been successful academically. Over the past years he has overcome medical issues and learned that when one door closes another door opens. Spencer plans to graduate in May of 2015 and attend Graduate School on the West Coast for photography. While he is still developing his personal style of photography he is also keeping his other options open, as he knows all too well that a person can’t predict the future.
This is pretty good, Sam, but it could be tighter. What was the focus you intended? Be aware that you don’t have to use everything you learn. Once you’ve chosen a particular focus for the story, leave out the info that may distract the reader from what you want them to know.