Birding volunteer Michael Colley, from Gambia, untangles a screaming bird from one of the volunteer’s 18 mist nets, a thin net that catches birds in flight, on Sunday, April 16, 2023 in Skagen, Denmark. At the northern tip of Denmark, a small group of volunteers living in the Skagen Grey Lighthouse are responsible for collecting data on a common yet essential animal- birds. The volunteers, who usually stay at the station in Skagen for a handful of months, are often awake long before sunrise and work until sundown, adapting to a limited sleep schedule in order to maximize data collection. Ringing sessions, which involve attaching a small ring to the bird’s leg, are essential for tracking bird migration. These sessions require the volunteers to be awake by 3 a.m. during the first weeks of April and even earlier during the summer months. The volunteers regularly capture, ring and release over 50 birds a day when the mist nets are set up.

Former Lindblom Math and Science Academy Principal Abdul Muhammad, center, is flanked by supporters before speaking in a press conference at the Chicago Public Schools Central Office on Thursday, July 6, 2023 in Chicago, Ill. Nine principals have been removed pending discipline or investigations into “serious misconduct” in recent years. Of those, six are Black men. In a report released by Chicago Public Schools, Muhammad is said to have failed to properly report a sexual assault charge that occurred at Lindblom. Muhammad refuted these claims in the press conference.

Twins Jesenia and Jasi Barry, 9, from New Jersey, protect themselves from heavy rain by holding a coat over their heads while walking south on Michigan Avenue on Wednesday, July 12, 2023 in Chicago, Ill.

A person jumps into Lake Michigan at Montrose Harbor during the tenth week of Friday Morning Swim Club on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023 in Chicago, Ill. The club started in 2021 as eight friends meeting up at Montrose Harbor every Friday morning to swim and catch up before the weekend. That summer, the club grew to around 700 people through word of mouth, and today, over 3,000 people flock to the harbor to swim each Friday morning.

Civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., center, greets attendees of an ’84-’88 presidential campaign reunion on Friday, July 14, 2023 at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Community Hall in Chicago, Ill. Jackson had stepped down as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition earlier in the day, passing on his leadership role after founding the organization in 1971.

People lean out of a N. Halsted Street window as the 2023 Chicago Pride Parade goes by on Sunday, June 25, 2023 in Chicago, Ill.

William Nørmark, 6, peeks out from the inside of a makeshift spacecraft at Aarhus University's Steno Museet on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023 in Aarhus, Denmark. Museums around Aarhus had extra activities and exhibitions during the student's winter holiday.

Aidan Dow, from Palos, Ill., poses for a portrait while dressed as Nightwing from the DC Universe at Fan Expo Chicago 2023 on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.

St. Mary’s senior Chase Hendricks smiles following the Dragon’s MSHSAA Class 4 state championship win over St. Dominic on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022 in Columbia, Mo.

Saint Louis University forward Patrick Sweeney slides the puck past University of Missouri goaltender Jackson Winkles for a goal in the Flyover Classic on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2023 at Centene Community Ice Center in St. Louis, Mo. Missouri went on to win 5-4.

“We want to give her the world,” said Cody Copas, father of Karson, his non-verbal daughter who has a TCF12 gene mutation. Not much is known about TCF12 due to its rarity, with few studies available on the subject. But according to her mother Nicole, “everything going on with her now kind of umbrellas under TCF12.” At just five years old, Karson is already four foot two and weighs 150 pounds.

Karson also has level 3 autism, Angelman syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome and pica. But despite her wide array of diagnoses, Karson has command over her life. Touch, speech and any and all activities are done on her terms. Whether it is playing with a certain toy, interacting with her parents or what is on the TV, Karson knows what she does and doesn’t want. Her parents are also acutely aware of her needs, taking her to therapy three to four days a week and placing her in a school environment tailored to children with special needs.

They have also made their work spaces second homes for Karson. Cody, who owns a card shop called Karson’s Cards, named in honor of his daughter, keeps a myriad of toys for her to play with while she hangs out with her dad at work.

In the Copas lives, everything revolves around Karson. And they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Here, Karson Copas, 5, peeks out from another room in her father’s card shop on Sept. 27, 2023, in Sedalia, Mo. Cody Copas, 29, named the shop “Karson’s Cards” in honor of his daughter. The shop opened a little over a year ago.

Karson Copas lines up magnetic squares in front of the Karson’s Cards storefront window on Sept. 27, 2023, in Sedalia Mo. Arranging objects is a comfort activity for Copas.

Karson Copas looks up at a television at Karson’s Cards on Sept. 27, 2023, in Sedalia, Mo.

From left, Nicole Aldana, 36, her daughter, Karson Copas, and her partner, Cody Copas, 29, walk into Loftus Early Childhood Center on Sept. 28, 2023, in Sedalia, Mo. Karson goes to a school that carefully caters to her needs for three hours a day, four days a week.

Karson Copas, right, is comforted by Maggie Oswald, an early childhood special education teacher, in a sensory room at Loftus Early Childhood Center on Sept. 28, 2023, in Sedalia, Mo. Copas spends 15 to 30 minutes in the sensory room each day before school to help her adjust to the new environment.

Karson Copas drags her foot on a turf carpet at Karson’s Cards on Sept. 28, 2023, in Sedalia, Mo. Cody Copas had bought and installed the turf carpet earlier in the day. Once Karson arrived, she rubbed her feet on the turf to inspect the new texture of the floor.

Nicole Aldana writes the ABCs on one of Karson Copas’s toys while she watches at Karson’s Cards on Sept. 28, 2023, in Sedalia, Mo. Despite Karson being non-verbal, her parents still teach her the ABCs, colors and basic numbers.

Karson Copas, left, and Nicole Aldana hold hands in the back seat of the car after a therapy session on Sept. 27, 2023, in Knob Noster, Mo. Copas goes to Knob Noster three to four times a week for speech therapy.

Karson Copas watches bubbles drift by her while standing on the front porch of her home on Sept. 29, 2023, in Sedalia, Mo. “They told me I couldn’t have kids,” said Karson’s mother Nicole Aldana. “Then I got pregnant and the blood test told me it was a boy. But we had a girl. We had a queen.”

Karson Copas cries while being bathed by her father, Cody Copas, on Sept. 29, 2023, in Sedalia, Mo. Karson can easily become overstimulated and protests when she has to do something she does not want to.

Karson Copas hugs Cody Copas in their living room on Sept. 29, 2023, in Sedalia, Mo. Karson only accepts physical touch when she wants to, and initiated the embrace with her father.

Karson Copas reaches up at the television to touch a character in a YouTube video on Sept. 28, 2023, in Sedalia, Mo. Copas becomes most energetic at night, and flaps and runs around the room to express herself. “We never know what her sleep schedule is going to be like,” said Nicole Aldana, her mother. “We take shifts watching her when she’s awake at night.”