Atop the narrow staircase leading to College Hall's Philomathean Art Gallery lies an intimate photography exhibit documenting the spring break trips of 300 Penn students.
However, instead of the predictable beaches and bars, the captured images display moments from various Penn groups' community service trips.
The exhibit, which features the on-location photography of Penn students, was curated with help from a group of Art History majors. Seeking an original way to communicate the hard work and unforgettable experiences of these community service efforts, the trip leaders from the various contributing organizations - including Hillel and Civic House - collaborated in sharing their trips with the Penn community.
The official exhibit opening was held Wednesday night, but many of the participants and organizers assembled earlier in the day to introduce the exhibit to Penn President Amy Gutmann, who stopped by in the late afternoon.
The simple, mounted prints feature things like on-site teamwork, Honduran teenagers congregating on a sidewalk and the underside of a local pier. The sites visited range from New Orleans to Prague.
"We've been talking about this since February, but we've really come together in the last couple of weeks," said student curator and College sophomore Hannah Gilbert.
For College sophomore and contributing photographer Sarah Akkina, the choice to go on Alternate Spring Break was a no-brainer.
"A friend told me about it and had a great experience giving back, and I knew that I wanted to be a part of that," she said.
FLINOLA, Fox Leadership in New Orleans, took a group of 100 to the still-recovering city, where Penn students interviewed developers and administrators and worked with Operation Helping Hands and Habitat for Humanity to rebuild homes.
Stephanie Simon, a junior in the College, came on the trip with 19 classmates as part of her politics seminar with Political Science professor John Dilulio.
"It was a really eye-opening experience, directly interacting with the residents in neighborhoods where it looks like the hurricane hit yesterday," she said.
Snapshots of Service is open from 5-8 p.m. tonight and tomorrow, and from 2-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
