BY JADE
Kelbey’s Mount Ayr Senior Session | Class of 2027
For Kelbey’s Class of 2027 senior session, we spent the evening roaming around Mount Ayr, incorporating pieces of her everyday life along the way. From downtown to the dance floor and eventually home with her horse, her session felt completely and authentically her.
Kelbey is a senior at Mount Ayr Community Schools and will graduate with the Class of 2027. She’s heading into this season with plenty to celebrate, including a 4.1 GPA and earning a spot in National Honor Society. She’s hardworking, involved, and already building a senior year filled with memories before graduation arrives in May.And then senior year gave us one more reason to celebrate. After Kelbey was crowned Ringgold County Fair Queen, we knew we had to add an Iowa State Fair moment to her senior story too. How cool is that?! Senior photos already document such a big season, but getting to include an accomplishment like this makes the gallery even more meaningful. It’s one of those “this only happens once” moments that absolutely deserved a spot in her photos.
We started her session by wandering around Mount Ayr and finding little pockets around town that gave us plenty of variety. I love using locations seniors see all the time and photographing them in a completely different way. Familiar streets suddenly become the backdrop for one of the biggest seasons of their lives.
Next, we headed to the gym for a part of Kelbey’s session that absolutely had to be documented: dance. Dance is a huge part of her life, and she hopes it continues to be after high school. She dreams of joining a college dance team, with Iowa State and UNI both on her radar as she starts thinking about what comes next.
While Kelbey isn’t quite sure what she wants to major in yet, I love that she isn’t rushing that decision. Senior year is such a strange little bridge between knowing exactly who you’ve been and figuring out who you’re becoming. Her own advice to underclassmen fits that perfectly: take every opportunity that comes your way and make as many connections as possible because those relationships may help you in the future.
Outside of school and dance, Kelbey loves riding her horse, walking, playing card games, and listening to country music. Her playlist includes everything from Megan Moroney and Cody Johnson to Kenny Chesney, Chris Stapleton, and The Chicks. Her favorite movie is Spirit, which honestly makes the final location of her session feel even more fitting.
After exploring town and finishing up at the gym, we headed back to Kelbey’s house to end the evening with her horse. These are always some of my favorite senior images because they document more than what someone looks like at seventeen or eighteen. They capture the things they love right now, the routines they know by heart, and a piece of home they may someday miss more than they realize.
Kelbey already knows one thing she’ll miss about high school: seeing her friends every day. She knows graduation can change friendships and routines that currently feel permanent. What won’t she miss? The busywork and, in her words, the smelly hallways. Fair enough. Her favorite classes have been art and anatomy, and her favorite people to spend those school days with include her best friends Lacey and Willow.
One quote Kelbey carries with her came from Mr. Ruggles: “Be where your feet are.” It feels like the perfect reminder during senior year. There is so much anticipation surrounding what happens after graduation that it can be easy to race ahead mentally. But there is still an entire chapter happening right now, with friends, dance, horses, family, hometown streets, fair queen memories, and all the ordinary moments that eventually become the ones you wish you could revisit.
Kelbey, I hope these photos always bring you right back to this season. To roaming around Mount Ayr, dancing in the gym, celebrating your fair queen chapter at the Iowa State Fair, ending the evening at home with your horse, and standing right on the edge of everything that comes next. Class of 2027, your chapter is just getting started.
