Dorothy Edwards | Visual Journalist

I followed a high school cheerleading team in Vancouver, Washington, on their road to the state championship for the first time in 16 years, making history for Fort Vancouver High School. One of the seniors, Jay Jay James, right, lost her boyfriend to a shooting a day before senior night, when this photo was taken, and a week before state.  “Everybody struggled on the team,” James says, “and knowing people were going through stuff and still showing up to cheer, I knew I couldn’t give up. It has always been more than a team.”

A pickup game of soccer at The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation in Nashville Tennessee on April 12, 2015.

When Varisha Khan, right, learned the results of the Redmond City Council race on Nov. 12, tears formed in her eyes and she hugged her mother Noreen. She became one of the first two Muslim women elected to office in Washington state. This moment for Khan, and historic moment for Washington, was a privilege to witness. She is setting an example for other people like her who want to make a difference in their communities and I hope those people look at this photo and see themselves and feel hopeful and inspired. “This moment in time, the soil is fertile for diverse candidates to come up. This is the perfect place for me to give back and change what city council looks like because right now city hall does not match our community,” Khan said. 

Lizbeth Lebron of Lehigh Acres celebrates her Quinceañera in North Fort Myers on Saturday, July 8, 2017.

From left, juniors Sidney Ho, Jordan Strauss, and Kendall Edgren mourn together during a candlelight vigil at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla. on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018 after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. on Feb. 14, 2018 that took 17 lives.

Jesusita “Susanna” Rodriquez has a cup of coffee at Burger King as the sun rises in Immokalee on Thursday, March 8, 2018. Rodriguez was left homeless after Hurricane Irma. The home she rented is uninhabitable because of extensive roof and water damage. She built a camp in the woods with scraps of wood and tarp and sleeps on a mattress she found on the street. Rodriquez says she leaves her camp every morning before sunrise to avoid confrontation with authorities.

Answai Bennett, 25, and his mother Latrecia Weir share a moment in Weir's Naples home on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Bennett was shot twice in his leg at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando on Sunday when a gunman opened fire and killed 49 people. 

People celebrate in the street in Capitol Hill after Joe Biden’s win on Nov. 7, 2020.

Grounds maintenance worker Jesse Nance takes down lights outside of Whitehouse Antique and Candy Shoppe at the Country Village Shops in Bothell on March 22, 2019. The property has been purchased for redevelopment and the shops will be closing their doors in the next month.

Barron Collier senior Lexie Hamilton cries as she hugs her father Jim Hamilton after winning the Class 7A state semifinal against Jensen Beach at Barron Collier High School on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017.

Josh Edison kisses his daughter Kai'ana, 1, as his family cooks the last of their food at Edison's mother's Immokalee home on their grill on Monday, Sept. 12, 2017. Edison's mother, Loretha, says she knew she should have stocked up on food and water before Hurricane Irma but she didn't have the money.

Justin Lynn of Tavernier watches a race during the Budweiser Cup Winter Classic Swamp Buggy Races at the Florida Sports Park in Naples on Sunday, March 6, 2016. Driver Dan Greenling was the overall winner. 

Abednego DeLaCruz plays with his daughter Jazlyn, 10 mos., after changing her diaper in their Chattahoochee, Fla. home on Saturday, July 1, 2017.

Linda Ragsdale, 75, kisses her husband George Otto, 86, in his Naples home on Wednesday, June 21, 2017. The couple got married in 2008 and Otto was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2010. Ragsdale lives next door to her husband and gets assistance from caregivers.

The Naples Hammerheads Rugby Club practices on Fort Myers Beach on Thursday, July 27, 2017. 

Barron Collier junior Connor Welling cheers for him teammates from the dugout during the Class 6A regional quarterfinal against Cypress Lake at Barron Collier High School in Naples on Tuesday, May 8, 2018.

Belle Meade Ranch workers evacuate horses as a brush fire burns across the street from the ranch in Naples on Tuesday, March 7, 2017.

A mother and daughter during a razor clam dig at Twin Harbors Beach State Park in Westport, Wash., on Dec. 6, 2018.

Adriana Acevedo, 7, of Jagüey Grande, Cuba holds on to her mother Ariamna on their motorcycle during an Association of Latin American Motorcyclists chapter meeting in Havana, Cuba on Saturday, March 26, 2016. Some harlistas, or Harley-Davidson bikers, are members of the Association of Latin American Motorcyclists chapter in Cuba.

Holden Berry, 12, of Berea, Ky. stands in the doorway of Lucifer's Lair in Berea, Ky. on October 23, 2014 while waiting for the haunted house to go live. The haunted house is open yearly from the last weekend in September for the Halloween season. Donnie Lamb, an employee at Lucifer's Lair says he thinks it is great what the haunted house does for the youth in the community. "If they are here, it means they aren't on the street," Lamb says.

Ahzerion Carothers, 4, of Bowling Green restlessly waits for his mother, Latrice, to get her hair done at Shake Rag Salon in Bowling Green, Ky. on Thursday, September 25, 2014. Carothers says that Shake Rag Salon is the only place she ever gets her hair done.

From left, Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Team members Krystal Rodrique of Virginia Beach, Va. and intern Liz Schell of Durango, Co. record observations of a deceased male dolphin on Ocean View Beach in Norfolk, Va. on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013. This was their third dolphin retrieval of the day. 

Enilda Cara Mendoza, 70, prepares for an evening bath in her home in El Cristo, Cuba on Friday, Dec 2, 2016.

Ashley Champagne of Grand Forks, North Dakota hugs her mother-in-law Beth Champagne as her house burns after being struck by lightening on Wednesday, July 4, 2012.

Grand Blanc High School freshman Sydney Schmit prepares for her race at the Genesee County Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday, September 24, 2011 in Fenton, Michigan.

Bird keeper Jim Lotz holds Beulah, a female White Naped Crane, as veterinarian Amanda Guthrie performs a pre shipment exam at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk, Va. on Tuesday, July 2, 2013. Guthrie is the first full time veterinarian that the Virginia Zoo has ever hired and she has been working there for a year and a half. 

Carolin Dressler and Stefan Messing of Germany embrace each other after crossing the finish line together of the San Francisco Marathon on Sunday, July 26, 2015.