A Snapshot of Roberta Pratt
The photo above is one of Roberta’s all-time favorites. She states, “I can remember way back in the day when they had a white horse run out on the football field before the game. It was so cool, and then it happened again during this football season.” Photo submitted by Roberta Pratt.
Grace Strelow
Many students know Roberta Pratt for her many years of dedication capturing countless pictures. Outside of photography, she has worked at Luther Manor for 38 years. She states, “I love the residents and they are family to me and always have been. I just accepted a position to work at the brand new Courtyards at Sussex, a retirement & assisted living facility.”
When she’s not working or taking photos for Hamilton, she likes to spend time with her family. Roberta has two children of her own, both who attended Hamilton. She also has a grandson, whom she loves to spend time with. Roberta says, “I have two sons, the oldest is Steven and my youngest is Zachary and is married to Becky. Zachary and Becky just had a baby in August of 2021 and he is my first grandchild! His name is Greyson, and he is the cutest baby out there. I love my family so much!”
Originally, Roberta first picked up photography when she was younger, even doing some photographs for weddings. Once her children were in high school, she started taking pictures of them in their sports. She first got interested in taking pictures for the school when her oldest was a part of the school’s basketball and football teams, and her youngest was a part of the football team.
Since then, 14 years to be exact, she has been taking photos for Hamilton. Roberta says, “ It started out just with basketball but then it spread like wildflowers to so many other sports. I have done just about every sport that you can think about except swimming and gymnastics.” She even takes the time to photograph events for the Jr. Chargers and Hamilton ski team, photographing just about everything for Hamilton.
She states, “My favorite sport to take photos of would be football; I love being on that sideline along with the players and the coaches. Of course, basketball has to be second.”
Roberta also loves taking photos when she travels to Africa with Soles For Jesus. She continued, “I love telling stories through pictures. After we serve on our trip, we are able to go on a safari, and that is the best! Pictures taken in a natural habitat are just amazing.”
Below are some pictures Roberta has taken that she picked as her favorites. Click on each image to read a caption from Roberta.
For many Hamilton students, Roberta’s pictures aren’t just pictures; they hold deep meanings that athletes will be able to remember in many years from now. Junior Kiley Slaats says, “When we won conference [softball] Roberta got a picture of us all jumping and cheering. It's fun to be able to look back and remember the feeling she captured. We are all thankful to have her at our games and we appreciate everything she does.”
The list of memories continues through each sport, as Junior Sylvie Zgonc states, “I'll always be thankful for when she came to State with the volleyball team my sophomore year. She captured amazing memories that I'll have forever.”
Roberta’s outreach is significant. She has shared 60.1 K photos on Instagram, all of which she provides to families and athletes free of cost. She states, “I always say it's all about the kids. I love to shoot sports and the kids love it because I see my pictures shared all over social media. Some students even sign up for Facebook just to see my pictures.”
Mr. Michael Gosz, Hamilton’s Athletic and Activities Director, adds, “Roberta has become a fixture within the athletic department by taking action photos for all our teams. She puts in countless hours both at home and away events on a voluntary basis. Her photos are seen by many as the best and her services have been requested by many of our families and many consider her to be a full time employee. She is the best and can be counted on rain or shine!”
Hamilton High School students and families can’t thank Roberta enough for the many years of memories she’s created.
