The Franklin community recognized Pils’ passion and skill with a surprise last Thursday as several of those peers he often photographs presented Pils with a new professional-grade camera lens at the school’s pep rally prior to their state semifinal playoff game against Edna.

It was an emotional moment for Pils, who said he shed a few tears. But as he hoisted his new lens into the air, Pils had a smile from ear to ear as the student body cheered him on from the stands.

“I was happy and thankful,” said Pils, who has Down Syndrome.

Behind the scenes, Hannah White had orchestrated the surprise. Her husband is an assistant football coach for the Franklin football team, and she’s often right next to Pils on the sidelines during games. White said she recently posted on Facebook to see if community members would help. The money needed to buy Pils the camera White wanted was raised in less than a day.

“When I get to see him on the sidelines experiencing joy, experiencing having a fun time, I just want that for him all the time, and I know that’s what the Franklin community wants for him all the time,” White said. “That he never feels different, that he never feels like he has Down Syndrome, but he’s just a part of this team, which I really do think our boys feel like he’s a part of our football program and really any sports program in Franklin.”

The Lions make their fourth consecutive state championship game appearance Thursday and hope to bring home the school’s third straight title. Leading the way is one of Pils’ classmates, Jayden Jackson. Franklin’s standout running back was the one who handed Pils the present during the pep rally.

“I remember when I first got here, people used to bully him and I didn’t like that, so I’ve always been a good friend to Nash and he’s my boy,” Jackson said. “He takes good pictures.”

Pils first picked up his family’s Canon Sure Shot camera at age 6. He would take photos of his older brother’s soccer games when they lived in San Antonio. Pils once dressed up as fictional photojournalist Jimmy Olsen of Superman fame. After the Pils family moved to College Station in 2014, Pils was at his sister’s soccer games when he stopped at the park gates.

Pils picked up his camera and snapped a photo of a spider web with his sister’s eye framed in the open part of the web. The photo won a summer youth contest at the College Station library. Pils was just 10 years old. Journalism runs in the family, though, as both of his parents are former newspaper employees.

“What’s weird about some of the great pictures he takes is it’s the only frame he takes,” Pils father, Douglas, said. “I’ve been standing next to him a couple of times and I only hear the one click and I’m like, ‘Are you sure you got that?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I got it, Dad.’”

Nash and White first met at his brother’s junior varsity football game in 2019. Over the last four years, White has become a mentor for Nash. White recalled Nash being shy and timid, but excited to be on the sidelines when they first met. As he became more involved, White said Nash began to open up. His photography skills also improved. Nash has taken photos of the Franklin varsity team for the last three years. His work has been featured in the Franklin High School yearbook, the Franklin News Weekly, and even The Eagle. His Facebook and Instagram pages have hundreds of followers.

“He just has this ability to capture people in a moment and capture who they are,” White said. “I always enjoy going to look at his photos because they’re not staged. It’s just normal photos that he catches, but he catches their personality so well.”

Last week, Douglas said White’s husband told him Nash would be involved at the pep rally, but Douglas wrote it off as his being a part of one of the classic silly skits. He was surprised when Nash’s teacher texted him afterward that she would drop the new camera lens at their house, which was followed with videos of the gifting. Douglas said he had to shut his office door because he became emotional. He added the Pilses still haven’t figured out the best way to say thank you to the community for their support.

“Just floored by how much Hannah put into that and how much the community put into that knowing that they support Nash with something he loves to do,” Douglas said. “Is it going to be something he’s going to do as a career down the road? I don’t know. It’s certainly going to be a lifelong hobby and something he enjoys doing.”

Nash has played soccer with his typical peers since age 4. Douglas said their mindset with him was to always treat him like their two other children and give him as many of the same opportunities they could. Nash even played one season with the Lions in middle school.

Nash might not be strapping up a helmet and pads this Thursday, but he will be right there on the sidelines of AT&T Stadium in Arlington with the Lions to capture their latest moments.

“Them doing that and accepting him and making him part of the team, that’s all he wants,” Douglas said. “He just wants to be a part of the team. … Him being able to do this from a taking pictures standpoint, that’s his way of being part of the team.”