Xenia Daily Gazette

CEDARVILLE — A Cedarville University visual communication design graduate has traveled to every continent and more than 50 countries since his graduation in 2013, documenting the experience with a camera.

Zach Murphy, originally from New York, returned to campus Thursday, Oct. 27, to display images from his travels and tell his story.

In January 2015, Murphy embarked on the World Race, an 11-month mission trip across 11 countries. While he had been traveling steadily since his graduation in 2013, it was on this trip that Murphy started taking pictures of people and places with the purpose of publishing them in a book.

“People are similar across the world,” Murphy said. “We have similar features; we greet each other the same way. We’re all made in the same image.”

Last year, Murphy published his first book with this idea in mind, and he hopes to publish a second book, “Faces of Places: Beyond the Silk Road.”

Murphy has worked for mission organizations, travel companies and even a portrait company in Australia.

Murphy has had many interesting adventures, including riding a hot air balloon over cliff dwellings in Cappadocia and witnessing colorful houses and clothing in India, and he’s quick to acknowledge that Cedarville University prepared him to make the most of his many opportunities.

“It was the internship opportunities through Cedarville that allowed me to focus on both photography and design,” he said, “and the courses offered pushed me to look at other parts of the world and to experience new cultures. The photography minor especially allowed me to focus on something I loved.”

“As a student, Zach was a self-starter and consistently approached his project work with enthusiasm,” said Aaron Huffman, assistant professor of graphic design at Cedarville. “He successfully balanced his coursework, his service as the Student Government Association marketing director and was actively involved in the campus community. It is no surprise to me that he has approached his professional work with the same degree of dedication and determination.”

Murphy’s work can be viewed on his website www.facesofplacesproject.com/.