2022 photo and essay contest winners
Each year, Farther Foundation helps high school students from underserved communities travel across the country and around the world to participate in educational travel experiences. Upon their return, they share their experiences with us through photos and essays.
Our favorite photos of 2022
Fernanda, 1st place (tie), visited the Baltimore museum of art while participating in a campus program at John’s Hopkins University.
Ian, 1st place (tie), had some fun in the dunes while on an outdoor adventure and wolf rehabilitation program in Colorado.
Kate, 1st place (tie), took this photo at the Parc del Laberint d'Horta in Barcelona.
Hannah, honorable mention, traveled to Alaska where she engaged in community service and ecology projects.
Aniah, honorable mention, explored marine science along the coast in San Diego.
The top essays of 2022
(exerpts)
Ndeye, 1st place
The strange actuality of service trips is that it is hard to distinguish where our helpfulness begins and where it becomes detrimental to the environment we serve. In a program with Global Leadership Adventures, I spent two weeks on the island of the Dominican Republic volunteering at medical brigades and building bathrooms all to benefit the islands’ underserved communities. At the end of every night, the group discussed what we’d learned that day, how we felt about our service and most importantly we spent hours debating the functionality and meaning behind our work and debunking what it meant.
Some days, we provided childcare and medical support in Dominican communities. One specific medical brigade which stood out to me was in our trip to La Grua, home to many people of Haitian descent who weren’t legally accepted by either country. Because neither country accepted them, they were forced to stay in what is now called La Grua, living without identification, passports or proof of birth. The cycle of poverty was evident. Because they hadn’t proof of birth, they couldn't get IDs and without IDs, they couldn't get jobs, and without jobs, nobody could leave La Grua. We toured La Grua and with every home we walked into, another young child gravitated to hold our hands or get a piggyback ride. We were the second GLA group to visit La Grua, so they expected us to come with the doctor and coloring books. What happens when the last GLA group comes? Will the community have another doctor? When is the next time an American will swoop in and spend an entire 5 hours with this child?
Sid, 2nd place
I felt loved by Oaxaca itself. The bright murals that were decorated with skeletons in flowing dresses. The various images of hummingbirds and butterflies. The red roses and grasshoppers painted on the walls at every street corner. The dance concert we went to one night with its speechless story, its betrayal, and its romance. For all my life, I had turned to art to express my sorrows and joy. To see art full of pain and power everywhere I looked told me that no matter what, I would always find a place where I belonged. No matter where or when, I could be loved.
The smell of home-cooked tacos and saccharine crepas con lechera. The flavor of love in its very ingredients wrapped me in its arms like the embrace of a mother. Its savory taste reminded me of my grandma’s cuisine, full of compassion Despite the unfamiliarity, I felt welcomed. To me, to be welcomed and accepted is to be loved. Love itself may not be too obvious. Sometimes we must actively question where it is. Sometimes love must be found. But when we evaluate ourselves and our experiences, we begin to realize it is everywhere around us.
Carmen, 3rd place
It is a cool summer morning as I jump out of bed to start my day. Only it's not my bed but instead, a hotel room in a different country. If I think too much about it, I will remember that I am here with 20 strangers and extremely homesick. I am beyond excited to be in Paris and put my Intermediate French skills to the test. Up to this point we have seen a stellar, beautiful Paris, the kind that is filled with landmarks and “Wows” as you marvel at the architecture. Today is a different kind of day and will change everything. We start the day off with community work at a local food pantry. We pack lunches and other necessities for the local Parisiens. Our last task is to actually walk through the streets and give out the supplies. This is where I see the true Paris, not the one that is aesthetically pleasing but the one that is honest, true and raw. I see people in need, graffiti, and dirt. Talking to people in my broken French makes me realize how hard it is for my parents to communicate back home, only speaking Spanish, and the importance of mastering both of my native tongues. While talking to others I realize that there is more here than meets the eye. I start to connect with people and see more than before, I see smiles, laughter, and joy all around the community. For the first time during my stay I finally see the personification of love spoken and unspoken through each human connection. I start to think about my own neighborhood, how it seems dangerous or scary to some, but feels exactly like home to me.
Ashley, honorable mention
As a tall Black girl, I am no stranger to being the center of unwanted attention but I had never been approached as much as I was in Rhode Island. It was as if I was an organism on display or a celebrity with overbearing fans. I live in Evanston, so I know what it’s like to go to a predominantly white school, but at Brown, instead of being constantly infused in white spaces, I had the opportunity to choose what kind of people I wanted to be around. The program included many different affinity groups which I was grateful for. I could be around people who looked like me without having to make an effort to go out and find them. I could finally feel a sense of belonging which I had previously missed in my Advanced Placement and Honors classes the year before. For the first time since I started high school, I was around people of color twenty-four seven and I felt less pressure to conform, to code-switch, and constantly be aware of my volume. This summer showed me the innumerable positives in my personality. As a black woman, I have always felt that I was being viewed by this large magnifying glass with heat reflected on all my ‘imperfections.’ Imperfections like being too talkative and aggressive. I am honest, instead of confrontational. I am welcoming, instead of loquacious. I now chose to see the good in myself instead of picking apart the negatives. Staying at Brown for those two weeks not only gave me a fresh perspective on life and who I want to be moving forward. But it also woke me up to who I am as an individual and all I am capable of doing on my own.