University of Pennsylvania sophomore Celeste Marcus is studying abroad in Israel this semester, but she’s still helping a local elementary school stay connected, from nearly 6,000 miles away.

Marcus, an intellectual history major from Narberth, Pa., created the S. Weir Mitchell Elementary School’s website as a part of an independent study and will continue updating it regularly with fresh content, even though her work on the project officially came to a close at the end of the fall semester.

Back in June, Marcus wanted to find creative ways to draw attention to inequality and approached Peter Decherney, a professor of cinema studies and English in the School of Arts & Sciences, who agreed to be her advisor.

“Celeste is passionate about social change and she started out ambitiously wanting to document all of society’s problems using every form of media,” Decherney says, “from writing to still photography to podcasts.”

With a little guidance from Decherney, she set out to find one project that could really make a difference.

Marcus first heard about Mitchell Elementary from Penn’s chaplain, Chaz Howard. Eventually, after following a few leads in the community, she landed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: a semester-long independent study that allowed her to design a website to raise awareness about the needs of Mitchell Elementary, a Southwest Philadelphia school with a reputation for excellence that’s flourishing despite its community’s dire economic conditions.

“One of the primary ways that Mitchell has been successful is by sharing its story with others who often want to help them move forward,” Marcus says. “I was overwhelmed by what I discovered; the school is really impressive.”

She wanted to help Mitchell Elementary share its stories through an online communication tool that could reach a wider audience and chart the school’s evolution under its new principal, Stephanie Andrewlevich. Another of Marcus’ goals was to outline the school’s fundraising initiatives and showcase her interviews with teachers about Mitchell operating as a core part of the neighborhood.

“Slowly, Principal Andrewlevich has shown the community how Mitchell serves as its center,” Marcus says. “Parents now feel comfortable inside the building and know they can ask for help in accessing resources. An enterprising and dedicated leader has given these gifted young minds the tools to create a future for themselves.”

The website also features a powerful visual storytelling element with its images.

“Some of the photographs feature Mitchell students and their artwork detailing life in Southwest Philadelphia,” Marcus says. “I find those photos particularly moving.”

The website, says Decherney, helps bring to life the transformation that’s happening at Mitchell and shows that one great example has the potential to be the catalyst of positive change.

“Like any ethnographer, Celeste walked the line between documenting and participating in events,” says Decherney. “Mitchell’s website not only publicizes the school’s miraculous turn-around, it also invites others to participate in and learn from the process.”

Through June, with assistance from teachers at Mitchell, Marcus will continue to update the website from halfway around the world.

While overseas, Marcus will also continue to produce “OR,” a national intercollegiate journal focusing on Judaism, Jewish thought, philosophy, history, politics and culture. There have been six online issues and one print issue since it debuted in February 2016.

Marcus says she chose “OR” for the publication’s title because means “light” in Hebrew and because “it suggests a plurality of views, as in ‘this or that.’ I wanted the publication to be a forum in which people with varying political and cultural perspectives could speak about things about which they care deeply. I didn’t want there to be any dominant view.”

Marcus says her study of philosophy, art, history and poetry at Penn inspired her to further explore her own heritage and to produce the journal, helping others do the same.

In Israel, she will take classes and serve as an intern for the chief curator of the modern art department in the Israel Museum.

“Judaism is an essential part of the development of human thought and imagination,” says Marcus. “It was time for me to hone the mental and emotional muscles that will allow me to plumb the depths of Hebrew literature, Israeli culture and biblical study.”