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“I felt after the trip it was my duty to do that for these people,” says Anderson, who majors in film studies and media production. “I wanted to get their stories out there. I feel like a lot of people go to Kenya for the tourism, but they don’t really interact with the locals and see how a Kenyan lives from day-to-day.”

Anderson and Andreas did see everyday life. Their photos capture the work of fishermen on Diani Beach, who, despite catching and consuming sea turtles, awake early every morning to ensure the creatures safely lay their eggs and return to the water. Snapshots show the struggles of the Watha community, a tribe shunned and no longer recognized by other Kenyans.

At their gallery, made possible by funding from Undergraduate Student Government and the Center for Sustainability, as many as 60 photos will tell those individual stories. Andreas hopes they will paint an equally vibrant picture of the��value of an interterm experience.

Until embarking on the interterm experience, Andreas says, “I wasn’t really aware of the field studies or research that I had access to here. I got that passion to actually go into the field and study these things. Because once I came back … I had so many more examples to draw upon and I understand the concepts so much better because I’ve seen it play out. I think connecting that academic scholarship to the real world is important.”

Now, Andreas and Anderson want to connect academic scholarship to the kind, authentic people they met abroad. Prints and postcards for sale at the gallery will raise money to help establish a college fund for members of the Watha tribe. Ideally, Andreas hopes to raise $700 — and raise some awareness within her own community.

“For me, a successful night is someone walking away saying ‘I learned something tonight,’” she says. “It’s not just about the landscapes or the wildlife. It’s about the people too.”