Kat Clark

When University Photographer Matt Bates (Journalism, ’03) snapped a series of photos during an Adventure Outings tree climbing trip to the Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, he didn’t think much of it. “The program’s director, Nate [Farrington], was climbing a nearby tree to assess branches,” Bates said. “Someone yelled, ‘Hey Nate, wave!’ I turned and saw him framed in this perfect light bubble and everything lined up for half a second.” His instincts kicked in.

Professor of religious studies Sarah Gagnebin doesn’t shy away from difficult conversations around mortality. As a former hospice chaplain, she developed an intimate relationship with the process of dying by sitting with people and bearing witness to their final hours and musings, offering support and reflective listening when it matters most.

The ancient rumble of a South African savanna elephant echoes through the speaker of Professor Samuel Siewert’s computer. “Biologists usually study these sounds because they’re interested in how animals communicate and their social structure,” Siewert says. “For us, it’s a way to save them.” These elephants can weigh anywhere from 4,000 to 20,000 pounds; however, their rumble is a sound unfamiliar to most, a secret language that vibrates at the very edge of human hearing.