ABOUT HIS SELECTED PHOTO: When first approached with the topic for this year’s project, health, I decided I would try my best to capture some of the rich history of Galveston that happens to coincide with issues related to public health. I took a few photographs of what was formerly known as the “Yellow Fever Cemetery” on Broadway, and Old Red on the UTMB campus. The subject of this photograph is the foundation of a corner store on the east end of the island. The low brick wall around the perimeter of this building would in all likelihood have been an early 20th century addition, commonly known as a “rat wall.” Cases of humans infected with the plague were reported along the U.S. Gulf Coast from 1900-1925. In an effort to reduce the spread of the disease by rodents, local governments required commercial buildings to construct these rat-proof walls along the perimeter of the building. Click here to view all of his photos.

Born and raised in north Texas, Dustin Henry made his way from Cowtown to beach town in the wake of Hurricane Ike. A graduate student of Texas A&M University at the time (Whoop!), Henry traveled to Galveston in the aftermath of the hurricane with a team of researchers, seeking to better understand the underlying factors that affect the pace and pattern of the community’s recovery. Having visited households from one end of the island to the other, his research brought him face to face with the unquantifiable tenacity Galvestonians have to pick up the pieces and rebuild in the wake of disaster.

In between classes, Henry’s trips from College Station to Galveston (purely for research, of course) led to his deep admiration of the island life. Graduating in 2010, Henry relocated full-time to the Galveston after being offered a job in the city’s planning department. Recently, he has found a new opportunity to continue serving community in another capacity at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

Henry’s interests and hobbies are centered around the relationships he has with friends and family, and he takes great pleasure being in the service of others. He is an Eagle Scout, volunteer Big Brother, avid traveler, amateur photographer, expert camper, and in his spare time he enjoys very, very gradually restoring his 102 year old home.