ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Meet Brett Shaw. Four years after graduating high school, he plans to start college in the fall.

“I’m wanting to have a bachelor’s degree in photography and business experience,” he said.

Shaw added he would’ve spent months saving up for a camera to get him closer to that dream. Being a part of the Pictures of Hope program helped him.

“Getting a camera without having to save up for one…. Ooh. It means a lot,” he reflected.

New Day in Albuquerque works with Shaw and other Albuquerque residents, ages 11-25, who face marginalization, disconnection or even homelessness. New Day partnered with Pictures of Hope, whose founder Linda Solomon offered a photography lesson for Shaw and others in the program before sending them out in the field with mentors, who helped them capture their dreams on camera.

After a month of capturing photos and pondering their dreams, Thursday was the big reveal at the Albuquerque Museum.

Shaw’s photo shows him with one foot on a crosswalk with the caption, “My dream is to be a photographer.”

“My journey, my life journey, I decided to take a picture of me walking a crosswalk of walking through where I want to be as a photographer and see where life takes me,” he said during his reveal.

For Sierra Arrellin, her picture focused on family – and how it could inspire change.

“I grew up with the absence of family so I know what it’s like not having anyone and having to do everything on your own,” Arrellin said. “I think if we give parents the extra resources, the tools needed, they can build more confident children and help make the world a better place with their confidence.”

Organizers printed their pictures on greeting cards that are now on sale. All proceeds from these cards will go back to New Day. That will help people like Arrellin and Shaw achieve their dreams.

“I hope to one day not only go to school for photography but take it on as a hobby to give down to my future family when I have one. To teach them that you can speak your truth through photos, and that if there’s something you can’t say, it can be said through a camera lens,” Arrellin said.

She believes this is just the start.

“I think there’s some really good stuff here. And I think we’ve opened up a door that I’m really excited to walk down,” Arrellin said.

Walgreens donated cameras to Pictures of Hope and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation provided support.