Photos

In the summer of 2006, Margaret Lewis spent nearly two months living and teaching in an impoverished Kenyan village, during which time she captured everyday life there through photography. The experience was powerful enough that she wants to return to Kenya and other developing countries to continue her work.

Lewis, now a senior at Los Altos High School, took pictures of Kenyan slums, wildlife and the Samburu tribe during her summer service trip in 2006. She wanted her photos to document the people and lifestyle, not just the poverty.

"I wanted to show their spirit," Lewis said. "Amid all the poverty, there are people who are so wholesome and giving."

Lewis discovered her love of photography while attending Freestyle Academy of Art and Technology, a multimedia program offered by the Mountain View-Los Altos high school district. She said she was inspired by her teachers and classes to pursue a career in humanitarian work through photo journalism.

Lewis has been accepted early to the prestigious Tish School of Art at New York University to study photography and imaging.

"Freestyle has laid the foundation for my art," she said. "Before going to Freestyle, I never considered myself an artist."

Freestyle students leave the normal high school curriculum to spend half their day in portable classrooms located behind the district office, where they learn to write in different styles ranging from satire to persuasive essay. They then adapt their work into a visual component such as film, drawing, layout, design and photography. The program provides instruction and the use of Web, sound, graphics and film studios.

All Freestyle students are required to take English, photography and graphic design, and they choose between film or Web production. Applications for the 2008-09 school year are due Feb. 15.

"Using my photography, I get to connect with a person and share it with the world," Lewis said. "Freestyle has sought out my passion."

After returning from Kenya, Lewis wasted no time starting her humanitarian career. With the help of several teacher advisors, she and three other students founded One Dollar for Life (ODFL) in 2006. The nonprofit encourages high school students to donate one dollar a year to help fund projects in developing countries, such as building schools and irrigation systems and providing vaccinations. In its first year the group raised $9,000, which helped build a secondary school building in Naromoru, Kenya. This year ODFL has raised $20,000.

Lewis, who is a member of Freestyle's first graduating class, used equipment from the program to make letterhead and announcements for ODFL fundraisers.

In addition to assisting her nonprofit, Freestyle teachers have inspired Lewis to write and photograph the tree sitters in Berkeley and bus drivers who worked in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In "Finding Love in the Ruins," Lewis documented two bus drivers who fell in love during the hurricane.

Not all of Lewis' projects have been so heavy. Last year, she and a friend made a documentary on Scottish culture called, "Real Men Wear Kilts." While in San Francisco, looking for Scottish pubs, Lewis heard bagpipes and followed the sound until she found a homeless man playing music on the street. She bought him lunch in exchange for an interview for her documentary.

"Freestyle is an outlet for kids who are looking to change up the environment," Lewis said.

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