Every evening, the sun sets over Evergreen’s hills, casting a bronze glow on the city’s greenery that’s perfectly complemented by a rose-stained sky. And every evening, Shreya Srinivasan (12) can be found sitting by her window, watching the clouds change from blue to pink to purple to black.

Whether it’s from her own window or through the windshield on her way home from Harker, Shreya takes time to watch and photograph the sunset every night. To her, sunsets are more than a pretty phenomenon—they’re a source of consistency and rhythm.

“Sunsets are a constant, and seeing them every night is relaxing,” Shreya said. “It’s a nice way to end the day. If I could take pictures of one thing for the rest of my life, it would be sunsets, no doubt.”

Shreya’s love for sunsets is something that her friends have picked up on. Close friend Anvitha Tummala (12), who has known Shreya for over seven years, has noticed that sunsets hold a unique importance to Shreya.

“To Shreya, sunsets are about repetition. Nothing is actually ending; they’re never actually going to stop, so they’re something she looks forward to,” Anvitha said. “It’s the simplicity of [the event]; they’re not man-made. She appreciates [them] because they’re so simple yet so beautiful.”

This consistency is something that Shreya values not only in nature but in her relationships. Shreya’s loved ones are one of her highest priorities, and she strives to be a source of constant love and support for the people around her.

“I used to be pretty shy, but I broke out of my shell in high school,” Shreya said. “I really like getting to know everyone. That feeling when you know that someone trusts you enough to let you truly understand them is so special because it allows for this genuine connection. It makes me very happy to know that people trust me.”

The effort that Shreya puts into her relationships don’t go unnoticed by those around her. Elaine Zhai (12), one of Shreya’s closest friends, described her as “caring and loving.”

“She’s a person that you would love having by your side throughout your life. Everyone around her sees so much value in her friendship. She shows so much care for everyone around her, which is very unique,” Elaine said. “She’s very caring and loving; that’s why people love being with her and are honestly very blessed to be around her.”

Creating these unique, intimate relationships is one of Shreya’s priorities. Whether it’s by bringing lunch for a friend on a hectic day or remembering to check in on an overwhelmed friend, Shreya expresses her love for those around her through various gestures. One of her favorite ways to do so is by coordinating surprises for her friends’ birthdays to ensure that they feel celebrated and appreciated.

“Planning birthdays is special to me because I love seeing people’s reactions; everyone is always genuinely excited,” Shreya said. “I remember the first time that I did it, [my friends and I] spent five hours creating a poster and a bunch of other things. It’s so important to me to make sure to do it for everyone.”

The reason that Shreya loves this process so much is because it allows her to ensure that each person’s moment is personalized.

“What I like most about planning birthdays is that it’s customizable and that I can tailor the details of each plan so that it best fits what my friends like,” Shreya said. “Through these gifts, I can show my friends that I notice small details about them. I’ve appreciated others doing that for me in the past, so I really want to be able to give back.”

This careful attention to specifics is something that Emma Dionne (12), who was one of the first of Shreya’s friends to receive these surprises, has noticed.

“She’s very organized, so she always reaches out and makes sure that [our friends] all do something for birthdays,” Emma said. “In everything that she gives to others, she makes them feel cared about because everything she does is so unique to that person.”

Whether she’s putting together over fifty photographs for a scrapbook, making a montage of personalized clips or adding special touches to a photo holder, nearly all of Shreya’s gifts have two things in common: photographs and messages.

“Printing out photos is important to me because it’s something that my parents started doing before I was born. As I looked through the boxes of photos we have at home, I really started to value them, which inspired me to begin including them in the gifts that I give,” Shreya said. “I’ll also sometimes find myself writing out a message for someone’s birthday [long before] it, simply because I’m so excited to send it and make them happy.”

Elaine has noticed that Shreya also uses photography to appreciate the moments that she spends with those around her.

“Living in the moment is really important to her. It really says a lot about her personality and how she values capturing the moments and being with her friends,” Elaine said. “That’s something that I admire about her: she really takes the time to be with her friends.”