Meet the G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S Emma Stewart, Class of 2017 senior from Illini Central High School.  She is fun, outgoing, and a great mix of a little sassy and a whole lot of sweet!

Let’s just say that she is as strong as she is pretty.. independent and ready to tackle what lies ahead after she graduates.  I admire her strength and determination very much!  My goal is always to capture not only what someone looks like on the outside, but who a person is on the inside; what makes that senior who they are, where they’ve come from, and what their personality is like.. so I drove to Mason City to do just this!  We started at her home in a beautiful rural area and then headed to her grandpa’s farm where she has made so many memories over the  years!  It was a chilly day and Emma may or may not have been shaking from being so cold but you would never know it from her photographs.  She was absolutely perfect and we couldn’t of had more fun!

After high school, Emma plans on attending Casper College to major in Agricultural Business.  She loves animals and wanted to be a veterinarian when she was a little girl.  Emma is a REAL cowgirl!   She grew up participating in 4H and has raised and showed cattle.  Every year during the IL State Fair, she and her family spend the day washing, feeding, and grooming her cattle to show and then in the evening she spends all of her time at the Grand Stand dancing and singing along with the country artists.  Two of her favorite country singers are Eric Church and Brantley Gilbert.   One of the most daring things she has ever done is halter a bull calf in a Calf Scramble!     One of her proudest moments was two years ago when she participated in the Mason County calf scramble.  I had no idea what a calf scramble was so she explained that it’s an event where they let 4 bull calves go into a ring and 6 kids try to catch them and halter them.  When they do, they take ownership of the calf to raise and show the following year.  Emma was the first one to catch a calf, so she took “Lester” home and the following year, she won the whole scramble show with him!

Emma would describe her “perfect day” as spending all day out on a lake swimming and fishing and ending the night with a bonfire under the stars with all of her closest friends. She loves doing anything outdoors, especially hunting and fishing. In school, she played volleyball and she loves to watch hockey.

Three things on Emma’s bucket list are 1. Swim with sea turtles 2. Travel all around the world 3. Go zip-lining

Advice to incoming freshman: Enjoy the next few years, because the time flies by in the blink of an eye. Be open minded and always stay true to yourself!

Ten Fun Facts about Emma:

1. Favorite TV show to binge watch: Sons of Anarchy
2. Most unusual thing ever eaten: Mountain Oysters, (she said yuck!)
3. Favorite family recipe: Missy’s Chocolate Lush
4. If she could eat only one thing for the rest of her life, she would eat fried rice
5. Her hair is a beautiful shade of strawberry blond but when she was a baby it was bright red!
6. Favorite holiday: Christmas
7. If she could travel anywhere in the world, it would be Bora Bora to explore the island and swing in the crystal clear water
8. Song she would wing on Karaoke night: Mockingbird by Toby Keith and his daughter. She would sing it with her dad
9. Favorite holiday tradition: Decorating the house for Christmas, and putting up the tree after Thanksgiving
10. Favorite childhood memory: When she first got her dog, Bear. He was a black lab, chow mix. At five years old, she didn’t know the differnece between a bear and a wolf because he looked like a wolf!

Emma said that her hero is her dad. He is always the first one to drop what he’s doing to help a friend or stranger in need. He is also the Chief of the local fire department and “I admire him so much for that.” The best thing about her dad is that he is her best friend.  “We are like two peas in a pod when we are together. He has always supported me in every decision that I make!”

 

Emma’s new pup – a chocolate lab named Leah!  Swoooon!

This momma and her baby were so sweet.  I decided after this session that I want to own a cow! They are so cute!

Meet Barney!  Everytime we left the area, he cried and wanted us to come back.  I decided that I wanted a mule too!

I mean seriously, check out that sweet face and Barney’s smile!  LOL

Emma Lou.. I wish you the very best as you graduate!  Have a super fun summer and I’m cheering you on as you start college and the next stepping stone in the journey of life!  You are a beauty inside and out and I am blessed to be able to capture this little snippet of life. Best of luck!  XO – Cindy