The Life of a Colleague: Nicole Saunders

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Life, as Nicole Saunders puts it, is all about change and transition.

“Everything around me has changed,” she says, “and I’m in a period of pure transition.”

Recently for Nicole, life has brought her through new experiences; like living on her own in Philadelphia. Nicole, 21, was born in Scranton, PA. She was adopted as an infant and raised in sunny Richboro, Bucks County PA. She recently moved out on her own to a quaint house off of Stillman Street in the Art Museum area of Philadelphia. Nicole and her roommate Mary-Kate, 19, sit in their moderately furnished dining room discussing their night’s plan. Unwinding from a long day of classes, Nicole reaches for her pack of cigarettes and lights a match.

Nicole and Mary-Kate have known each other for 8 years. Erin, Mary-Kate’s sister, is Nicole’s best friend and is their connecting link. As Mary-Kate exhales from her cigarette, she tells a story of when they were younger, “I remember when we were younger. Even when they were 15 years old, I would hang out with Nicole the most. She was still dating Steve at the time, and I remember going ghost hunting in graveyards. We’d do devious adolescent things.”

From the days of teenage fun, to living as housemates in college, Nicole and Mary-Kate have grown closer together and redefined their friendship. Mary-Kate describes Nicole as someone who “knows how to use her imagination, a very visual and captured person. Nicole is very visually philosophical.”

Visually philosophical may be appropriate terminology to define Nicole. She hopes to make a career out of her photography. As she eats a bowl of freshly boiled pasta, Nicole explains her career objectives. “In the future,” she says in between bites, “I hope to have a solid career in photography. I really, really hope it works out for me in photography. I’d like to successfully sustain myself in any way, whether it is journalistic or commercial. I don’t really care. I just want to take pictures.” There is a brief pause as she holds the bowl of pasta. “I wouldn’t mind if I had a hot husband, but I won’t push.”

Nicole is recently single after 2½ years of dating. Steve Vernik, as Nicole describes him, is “the love of my life, thus far. We recently broke up. I’ve actually been thinking about how this [project] is not necessarily going to be a false representation of me, but rather just a very new one. The relationship has been my life and my world up until about a month ago.”

Needless to say, Nicole’s life is very busy with managing friendships, classes, school work, and her new job as a bartender. According to Mary-Kate, Nicole can get “very overwhelmed.” Rightfully so, Nicole has been working hard on doing a documentary on New Jerusalem, a recovery house that serves the North Philadelphia community. She says that it is “a crucial endeavor because it is very, very important for the people I’m documenting.”

On March 16, Nicole rides her bike to 2011 West Norris Street; just 20 minutes away from her house. New Jerusalem is more than just a house for addicts; it is a home for people that are just trying to better themselves. Nicole recognizes the mission of the house and focuses on “doing the assignment correctly, with ethics and respect in mind.” As she approached the house with her Canon 20D in hand, Sister Goretti comes outside to greet Nicole on this sunny Thursday morning. The two exchange greetings and walk inside the house for some breakfast.

“Sister Goretti! You’re always trying to feed me!” says Nicole in a loud but warm tone. Sister Goretti shuffles in the kitchen to prepare some toast and Indian applesauce. “You always come hungry so I feed you!” says Sister Goretti in response to Nicole’s exclamation. Nicole sits down and enjoys breakfast as she waits for her next photo opportunity. “This morning we had church service.” Nicole explained, “It often gets intense.”

Nicole’s photography has proven to be a very important aspect of her life whether it be documenting New Jerusalem, or shooting some portraits for fun. Her photography has taken her to Chris’ Jazz Café in Center City, Philadelphia for a “time capsule” assignment. Her idea was to shoot smoking in bars. Nicole, equipped with her trusty camera and martini, began shooting and socializing with the people at the bar.

“I just got my first bartending gig not too long ago,” she said. “I really have gotten into it. I love learning how to make new drinks and seeing how my customers respond to them. I also think that knowledge about alcohol and mixology is a really cool one to have. I read up on it a lot. That must make me seem like a lush, but I’m honestly not.”

As the night went on, it was easy to see that Nicole is a bright, and cheery individual. Mary-Kate comments on how she enjoys Nicole’s favorable personality, “When Nicole is happy, she’s really happy and it spreads and shows. She’s loud about it and it’s very contagious. She’s vocal, and that’s a very good thing.”

On a quiet night in her humble home on Stillman Street, Nicole sits down in her dining room chair and gets her haircut from her friend, Sabina. Sexy and fun, is what Nicole said to describe the haircut. The change in Nicole’s appearance symbolizes the changes she’s going through in her life.

“Who I am now really doesn’t reflect who I’ve been my entire college career,” said Nicole. “But I suppose that is a positive and a negative. Change is good.”

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CAPTIONS:

1) Nicole Saunders sits in her dining room smoking a cigarette while talking to her housemate, Mary-Kate. Let this beginning image serve as the “before” picture.

2) Nicole and Mary-Kate discuss their night plans while smoking cigarettes.

3) Nicole experiments with her portraiture techniques at Chris’ Jazz Café where she was photographing smoking in bars.

4) On a bright Thursday morning, Nicole greets one of the residents of New Jerusalem – a house that promotes recovery to addictions for people in the North Philadelphia Community.

5) Nicole and Sister Goretti are both loving people that share a warm, caring relationship for each other. Sister Goretti later prepares breakfast for Nicole.

6) While at Chris’ Jazz Café, Nicole reviews some of her shots on her Canon 20D with candlelight.

7) Nicole sits by the window and enjoys her favorite drink: a martini. She waits for smokers to take out their cigarettes.

8) Sitting patiently as her friend Seveena cuts her hair, Nicole sits in her dining room waiting for the first lock of hair to be cut.

9) “The haircut is sexy swooshy,” says Nicole as she takes a break from her night class in Annenberg Hall. Let this final image serve as the “after” picture.