09/02/2026
⭐ CTY Student Spotlight: Graydon H. Captures Summer at CTY ✈️ 🦉
When 14-year-old Graydon H. arrived at CTY's Johns Hopkins University site this summer, he brought more than his interest in science with him—he brought his camera.
A photography enthusiast, Graydon spent his time on campus studying Epidemiology, where he learned about different study designs, how diseases spread, current outbreaks, and ways to prevent disease. But some of his favorite moments happened outside the classroom.
“My favorite part of the program was unstructured time, because I could do anything I wanted,” Graydon said. Whether he was visiting the bookstore or relaxing in his dorm, he enjoyed having time to explore campus and pursue his own interests, including photography. Graydon’s passion began with an airshow in 2023 and grew into a love of aviation, bird, and wildlife photography. His grandfather gave him his first DSLR camera in 2024, and he has continued to develop his skills and upgrade his equipment ever since.
At CTY, his camera helped him capture a particularly memorable experience. During the weekend before July 4, the Blue Angels performed an airshow several miles from the JHU campus. Graydon was at an activity on south campus when he spotted the Blue Angels’ six-jet formation approaching.
“I screamed, ‘DELTA! DELTA!’” Graydon recalled.
He grabbed his camera and started shooting. Among the hundreds of images he captured was a photo of the jets against a blue sky dotted with clouds. It's one of his favorite photographs to date.
For Graydon, that unpredictability is part of what makes photography so rewarding.
“You never really know what you are going to make out of it,” he said. “Whether you get a lot of good shots, a few, or even none at all.”
