Photos Galore

I have shot thousands of photos from my freshman through my senior year. I posted some of my favorites at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakesavadow

Spring Break service

Spring Break in Miami was filled with the sun, the beach and community service.

Last week I participated in an alternative Spring Break trip to Miami with 45 students, 15 of which were from Towson. The rest were from the University of Maryland, George Washington University and Wayne State University in Michigan.


The trip was sponsored through Hillel, the Jewish organization on campus, who partnered with City Year, a group of volunteers that devote a year of their life to community service.

For our week of service we did volunteer community work in the morning and in the afternoon. We also mentored students at an elementary school.


We woke up bright and early each day and headed out to the community center where we built benches, painted a gym, painted/drew murals, painted four square courts and visited two senior citizen homes. We helped serve food to the elderly who either could not make food for themselves or were homeless. The people were so thankful for the food and our company.


Every afternoon we were partnered with a buddy from an afterschool program. I was matched with a nine-year-old that was funny, outgoing and in love with computers, he owns a Mac. I helped him with his homework and helped prepare him for his test. We played games, wrote poems, had two field days and played kickball. I also made sure he was thinking about his future. My buddy and I really connected. Everybody thought that he was just like me. We plan to keep in touch.


We also heard various speakers. Some talked about homelessness in Miami, another speaker discussed Haitian immigrants. Finally a Rabbi talked about our impact on the community. It was amazing that we could make such a difference in only a short amount of time.


We did get a bit of free time. Some of us went to the Heat vs. Spurs game. We also got to go to go to the beach for about three hours on Friday.


It really touched me to realize one person, with the help of many individuals, could make a huge and powerful difference in not only a community, but in the world, since the organization we were partnered with has volunteers all throughout the world.


Spring Break in Miami was filled with sunny days, rewarding work and meaningful connections to the community that we helped. You should try an alternative break. I think that you will find it to be a week well spent.

Check out more photos here:

http://gallery.me.com/bsavy#100032&view=grid&bgcolor=black&sel=23

Blog from others on the trip:
http://hillelcityyear.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-03-17T05:33:00-07:00&max-results=7&reverse-paginate=true

Walking with a purpose

I traveled to Israel this summer on a trip sponsored by Hillel through Taglit-Birthright, led by Ken Krivitzky, the Towson Hillel Director.

Our group was comprised of students from Towson and Silicon Valley.

It was an all-expense-paid trip. After a 12-hour direct flight our plane landed in Israel where we spent 10 long but amazing days on a trip that I will never forget.

Our tour guide constantly used the phrase “walk with a purpose” to keep us focused, so many sites and so much to see and only 10 days to see as much as possible. Our groups even designed a t-shirt with this message.

So, when you spot someone in this shirt you’ll know they were on our trip.

I learned a lot of history that dates all the way back to the Ottoman Empire and I saw so many amazing sites that I can not even list all of them.

Some of the best sights were visiting the Western Wall, hiking Masada, going into the Dead Sea, riding a camel and going on an archeological dig where we found history dating all the way back to the time of the holiday Hanukkah.

We also traveled through underground tunnels and visited Jerusalem, the most populated part of Israel.




We saw Tel Aviv, which is the symbol for the state of Israel. We went rafting and for fun the soldiers flipped over our rafts as we flowed down the Jordan River.

We camped out in a Bedouin tent for two nights and stayed in two very nice hotels.

It is hard to believe that a country that is only the size of New Jersey has so much history packed into it.

We constantly had soldiers and guards with our group to keep us safe. However, at no point did I not feel safe.

In America, we go to the gym to stay fit, and in Israel it is mandatory that they serve in the military to stay fit.

We had a taste of their boot camp and it was hard work. I had the luxury of getting to know one of the soldiers personally by the name of Yogev. I was surprised by how much we had in common because we watched the same TV shows and listened to the same music.

Technology is huge in Israel, from agriculture to medical science.

Being a technology fan, much to my chagrin, I found that Wi-Fi is readily available while the iPhone is not!

I also found it interesting that it is common for Israelis to video chat with each other through their cell phone.

My purpose was met: I got to see the contrast between the new and old cities, hear the history, feel a connection with the people, taste the salty sea and touch and smell hundreds of years of continuing development.

Overall, getting to see Israel up close was an amazing experience and it made all of the difference in my life.

I can’t express in words enough how meaningful this trip was to me after bonding with 45 amazing people in such a short time and memories of a country I will never forget.

I also would like to express that if you have the chance to visit Israel, whether through Taglit or through another group of organization, you must go!

Of course, being a Towerlight photographer, I “focused” my camera on about 2,000 photos as well as videos to capture my time in Israel.

So for what words can’t express, you can check out a slideshow of some of my photos from the trip on the TheTowerlight.com.

Sophomore Geneane Johnson a mass communication riding a toilet seat bicycle at the HRL carnival.

YouTube Sensation

Damian Sanders a Junior at Towson is currently ranked as the 6th most viewed subscription on YouTube.

In person he really is a shy guy but he comes alive in his videos.

Striving, thriving with HIV

At 19 years old, senior Allie Reitz learned of her illness; now works to raise awareness

Youth drive, celebrate Obama

Supporters Celebrate Obama's Victory at Bourbon st. in Baltimore.

Towson Womens Soccer

Towson senior midfielder Jaime Swears walks off the pitch for the last time following a loss, 2-1, to visiting Mason, Thursday afternoon.

Kickoff for November 1, 2008

Kickoff Cover: October 9, 2008

One of the better cover's of kickoff which featured my photo on the cover October 9, 2008.

baltimorestudentmedia.com/pdf/2008/kickoff101108.pdf

Sean Schaeffer

Towson quarterback Sean Schaeffer gets tackled and his helmet goes flying.

T-Pain Concert

The photo that should have run in The Towerlight.

Phelps Welcome Home Parade

After shooting Towson Football vs. Northeastern back to back with the Michael Phelps Parade. It looks like my photos will be on the front and back cover of The Towerlight.

Towson vs. Columbia Football

Junior running back Matt Castor runs by Columbia defensive end Javier Garza on one of his 37 carries Saturday. Castor compiled 108 yards on the ground along with two touchdowns in a 31-24 win over the Lions. It was Castor's first game back from an ankle injury.

Towson vs. UMBC Soccer

Freshman forward Liam Maloney celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal in the second half against UMBC at the Towson Center Soccer Complex Wednesday, Sept. 17. Towson won, 2-1, to move to 3-2 on the season with its first winning streak of the fall.

Towsontown Spring Festival

Three girls pick out handmade bottle cap earrings during the 41st Towsontown Spring Festival Sunday afternoon. Below, many different food vendors lined the roads of downtown Towson to sell sandwiches, lemonade and other dishes.

Appeared on the cover of The Towerlight 5/5/08.

TigerTHON

Dressed in roller derby attire, sophomore Jillian Rogers dances during TigerTHON in the University Union Friday night.

Tigerfest

Excited audience members Erin Eberle, Trisha Fields and Leslie Smith at Tigerfest cheer for The Roots, Fire in the Hole, Immortal Technique and The Calling on April 26.

The Calling performing at Tigerfest

Alex Band of The Calling strums and sings during the band’s performance at Tigerfest. Band wore a green bracelet for “Donate Life,” a charity he started after his wife almost needed a liver transplant after tumors were discovered on the organ.

Baltimore City children visit Towson

Kaila McNeill, right, one of the many Baltimore City children that came to campus, joyfully reacts after Towson wide receiver Dayron Arnold, left, signs her shirt in Hawkins Hall Friday, May 2.

Links

• My Website
• My Flickr Page

Friends

• Patrick Smith - Photos
• Kanji Takeno - Towson DP Services
• Christopher Curry- Photos
• Devin Smith- Designer
• Ben Exler- Designer
• Patti Ross- Consultant