It is still dark when the lights at McBride Field flash on at 6 a.m., illuminating a formation of 60 football players lined up for conditioning drills. The athletes’ movements across the turf are the first signs of life on campus, their breath rising from their facemasks into the chilly fall air. Inside, the kitchens in Peirce start humming with the activity of employees brewing coffee and cracking eggs before the sun peeks over the horizon and extinguishes the lamps along Middle Path.

Kenyon rises slowly on Wednesday, Oct. 14, and then suddenly, picking up momentum with each chime of the Church of the Holy Spirit bells. The dismissal of classes releases steady surges of energy into the heart of campus as students travel to their varied destinations, landing in anthropology labs and art studios, at athletic events and play rehearsals and later at Horn Gallery shows and residence hall parties. From dawn to dusk to midnight and beyond, the story of one Kenyon day unfolds like a composition that gently swells into a powerful crescendo, finding harmony in the varied patterns of village life.

To capture the spirit of the Hill’s daily rhythms, five photographers were tasked with documenting 24 hours of the Kenyon experience. From their thousands of images, we have assembled a collection of moments both routine and remarkable, a tribute to the artistry of a day well-lived.

Experience a full day at Kenyon by visiting 24hours.kenyon.edu.

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