Through Our Eyes-04/11/17

Michelle Calnan, 52 of Knoxville, Tennessee sits in her bed after getting little sleep the night before due to symptoms of Benzo withdrawal. “I don’t want to be in this body. I’m tired of seeing the same trees out of the same window feeling the same way,” said Calnan while she wept in her bed. Calnan was prescribed Klonopin ,an anti-anxiety drug for over 20 years that is designed to be used for a maximum of four weeks. She is currently attempting to taper off the medication which is a lengthy process taking anywhere from three to six years.|Michael Noble Jr.

Rosalino Santiago Garcia and his wife, Sabina Garcia Pacheco, wait to have a lasso placed on their shoulders by their sponsors during the couple’s wedding ceremony in Santa Ana, Oaxaca, Mexico on March 25, 2017. The lasso is a staple of Hispanic weddings and symbolizes the couple’s everlasting union. The two were officially married five years prior in a civil union, but it wasn’t until March that they could afford to throw a proper celebration after they saved enough of the money that Rosalino earned as a migrant worker in the tobacco fields of Kentucky.|Nick Wagner

Siena Heights University Asia Gardner sprints to the finish line as she anchors in the second heat of the 4×100 meter race during the Hilltopper Relays on Saturday April 8, 2017 at Charles M Reuters Track and Field Complex.|Shaban Athuman

Indiana Tech’s Jordan Partee falls into the sand pit after jumping 6.64 meters during the Hilltopper Relays on Saturday April 8, 2017 at Charles M Reuters Track and Field Complex. Partee would finish in 8th overall with a 6.74 meters.|Shaban Athuman

**This past Tuesday, WKU students skyped with members of RIT’s NPPA student chapter and exchanged photos for a joint critique session. WKU students discussed and selected the best photos from RIT. They did the same with us. Check out what RIT selected as their top photos from this past week! A big thanks to RIT for making the collaboration happen!

Through Our Eyes-03/28/17

Rafey Wahlah of Lahore Bunjab, Pakistan has been in the United States for four years. Wahlah is currently the President of the Pakistani Student Association at Western Kentucky. This association was founded three years ago by students of this nationality. Wahlah stated, “When I first came here there were only four Pakistani students, a year later there were about 30; as I graduate this year, I fear we won’t have many Pakistani students attending this University to continue the PSA organization.”|Ebony Cox

Mariam Athuman, 5, is bathed in the afternoon light at her home in Roanoke, Virginia. Her family moved to the United States from a refugee camp in Tanzania in 2008. She is now a citizen.|Shaban Athuman

Much hangs in the balance for Rafey Wahlah, a senior at Western Kentucky University. Wahlah, the current president of the Pakistani Student Association at WKU, will graduate this spring with a degree in Political Science and hopes to return home to Lahore, Pakistan where his family resides but has also begun to seek out work in the United States while he is still eligible under the OTP student visa work program that allows foreign college students enrolled in US schools to begin their careers in the US for a short time in hopes of being selected for an H1-B visa, the first step in the green card process.|Alyse Young

Through Our Eyes-02/14/17

Sumner Franklin (on left), from the University of Kentucky, takes a punch to the face from Miguel Brarzey, from WKU, at the Sigma Chi Fraternity Fight Night in the Sloan Convention Center on Friday, Feb 10, 2017. Franklin won the match.|Silas Walker

London Alford, 4, and older sister Quinlann Alford, 6, from Bowling Green react to the cowgirl trick riders performing their stunts at the Lone Star Rodeo. Quinlann enjoys the rodeo for the animals. “When I grow up I want to be a vet,” said Quinlann. | Michelle Hanks

Jill Matthews, a Freshman from Louisville, stands with her clarinet in Minton Hall on February 14, 2017. Matthews is a music major and has played the clarinet for 9 years. “I love playing music,” Matthews said. “It teaches me something new about myself every day.”|Morgan Hornsby

Sigma Chi fighter Justin Williams walks into the ring before his bout during Sigma Chi fight nigh on Thursday Feb. 9, 2017 at the Sloan Convention Center.|Shaban Athuman

Kenowa Hills’ Megan Titus reacts with her teammates after it was announced that Kenowa Hills won the Knight Invite at Kenowa Hills High School on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017.|Mike Clark

A rodeo contestant competes in the steer wrestling competition at the Lone Star Rodeo in Bowling Green, Ky. on February 10, 2017|Kendall Warner