Senior Portraits at Charlotte Christian School

Today I get to feature a high school senior I have known since he was two years old. Meet my longtime client and even longer time friend, Tate Efird. Tate and his family were some of our first best friends when we moved to Charlotte in 2006. He and my daughter Kate had lots of playdates and stroller dates too as his mom Alison and I pushed them through our neighborhood while pregnant with our seconds, Jay and Maddie. Where does the time ago? It feels like yesterday that they were splashing around a kiddie pool while we handed out Goldfish. This week, Tate is graduating with honors from Charlotte Christian School and in the fall, he will attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (a family tradition … keep reading)!

Before we jump into his amazing accomplishments and plans, please take a look at his senior portraits. Tate is a lifer at Charlotte Christian which means that he started school there in kindergarten and continued through his senior year. Tate has always been very active on campus, making it the perfect location for his senior pictures. He is a scholar and an athlete so I loved having access to Guy Field, Tate’s favorite spot on campus.

I have spent countless hours on the field practicing and building relationships with my soccer and lacrosse teammates. I have made memories on that field that I will never forget and I also have made some new friends that I pray I will never lose. I have learned valuable lessons on the field as well as leadership skills as captain for both of these teams. I will always remember the wins and losses on that field as well as the times my family spent there training on the weekends.   

Tate Efird, Charlotte Christian Class of 2023

Charlotte Christian Senior Scholar Athlete Award

Tate is the recent recipient of Charlotte Christian’s Senior Scholar Athlete Award and he earned a spot on the Summa Cum Laude Honor Roll every semester of Upper School. He is also Captain of the school’s Varsity Soccer and Varsity Lacrosse teams, and made Soccer All-Conference First Team & All-Regional Team. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society and Tri-M Honor Society for music. Tate plays the trumpet and in his spare time (I’m not exactly sure where he found spare time), has become bilingual in Spanish. He received the Seal of Biliteracy and even studied at The University of Salamanca, Spain.

Tate says it’s impossible to choose one specific favorite memory from high school. He has loved every sporting event, meeting new people and participating in field trips. “If I had to choose one memory it would be from either my J-Term trip to Costa Rica or Dominican Republic. On both trips, I was able to serve others in mission work and have fun with my friends while learning about a different country.”

Destined to be Chapel Hill Bound

Tate is a 3rd generation Tarhill! His grandparents, parents, aunts, uncle and cousins all graduated from Chapel Hill making him truly Carolina born and bred. Tate plans to major in biology and hopes to attend dental school to become an orthodontist or an oral surgeon. Go Heels!

Thank you Efird family for always trusting me to photograph you all. I am so impressed with the kind, smart, athlete, handsome, friendly young man you are sending off to college. I know you are going to have a blast with this next chapter.

Tate – Thank you for always shining on camera and off. You are an excellent role model to so many!