Dawoud Bey works to engage young people in the process of self representation. He views adolescents as marginalized by an American culture that judges them as a consumer block, rarely recognizing them as individuals with unique voices. For his Class Pictures series, he visited six high schools in the Midwest and on the East and West Coasts. Inspired by early-20th-century photographers such as Walker Evans and James Van Der Zee, his goal was to document a broad swath of American youth, spanning racial and economic categories, at a particular moment in time. This portrait is named for its subject, Shalanta. Aware that no single form of representation can capture the complexity of a person, Bey asked Shalanta and her peers to write statements revealing something about themselves that viewers would not otherwise know. Before reading their texts, he made their portraits using a large camera and tripod, a time-intensive method that allowed him to interact with each person at length. Shalanta expresses confidence with a direct gaze and creative fashion choices. Her written statement, in which we learn that she aspires to a career as a pediatrician, adds dimension to this impression.