Tanner - Senior
How to describe Tanner? A senior at Waukee Northwest High School, the starting running back on the football team, a wrestler, an avid hunter, a horseman, a farmer, and a future agricultural science major, but more importantly; One of the most respectful and genuine young men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
I didn’t spend much time with Tanner outside of photographing the football team, but the few hours I had with him and his family during his senior session were more than enough to determine what kind of person Tanner is.
Both on and off the field, Tanner cares about his family. He cares about his teammates or rather, brothers, on his football team. He cares about his mother, so much so that he spent a few hours on a Sunday taking his senior photos; for her. I can’t say whether or not he actually wanted to be there, but I can say that his attitude and personality only presented positivity and charisma.
The moment I knew what kind of person Tanner is, was when I caught him in a moment. We had just arrived at his grandparent’s farm and Tanner was admiring the hunting grounds that he had spent many hours on before. For some context, Tanner had recently had a major knee injury during a football game. The first question he had for his physical therapist was, “can I still hunt?”. Hunting is home for Tanner, which is why it was so important for him to take photos on the grounds he loved. Within that moment of Tanner ‘taking it all in’ I snapped a pic.
Tanner is a good kid. He’s full of love. He puts his heart into everything he does. Wherever he ends up in his future, whether it be Iowa State University to learn about how to keep the family farm going, pursuing wrestling in some capacity, or whatever it might be; I know that he will have that same one of a kind character.
Thank you to Tanner and the Spyksma Family.
