Bria Webb

When Bria Webb walked through the door of her fourth-grade classroom, she burst into tears. Each new school year put her into an unfamiliar and frightening environment.

The tables have now turned for Webb, a 17-year-old senior at Sam Houston High School who spends most of her time in downtown San Antonio at Ripley's Haunted Adventure, where she dresses up to scare little ones and can even make adults cry.

She is a member of Sam Houston's academic decathlon team, a part of the theater program, a soccer player and a team leader for a college readiness program called GEAR UP that takes students to visit campuses, such as UCLA, Yale and Harvard.

Although her school offers no real journalism training, Webb was introduced to journalism after San Antonio Express-News photographer Lisa Krantz visited her school.

Webb shadowed Krantz after looking at pictures on her website. After seeing a photo of a skinny African girl, Webb was pulled into the young girl's world and into her story.

"When I see pictures from these outstanding photographers, it amazes me, it intimidates me," Webb said. "I want to be like them. I want to tell the stories people are afraid to do."

Webb was a member of the Teen Team, a teen advisory board sponsored by the San Antonio Express-News. Webb has had stories and photos published in the Express-News, including a story about dance style jerkin'. She also created a slideshow of photos for a show in Austin called "CU@Circus" where acrobats performed acrobalancing, juggling and other circus techniques.

Webb's dream is to be a photojournalist and live in an environment that changes by the second. She has grown out of being a shy and frightened girl and is now a young woman who wants to live her life by achieving big.

"I want to be remembered for doing outstanding things," Webb said. "I want to be remembered for writing outstanding stories and for taking outstanding photos. I want to experience everything the world has to offer."