PENDLETON — Carnegie Learning Center student Justis Rose had 14 photographs attached to a poster board that served as the basis of his Photo Voice Gallery presentation.

When asked about one of the photos — showing beach and surf on a sunny day — his response seemed to contrast sharply with the image.

“That’s one of the Bad Five,” he said.

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The photo represented a time in fourth grade when he went boogie-boarding in the ocean but didn’t know a red flag in the area meant there was a dangerous undertow.

He said when he entered the water, he was pulled under and away from shore — “I only saw black,” he said — before swimming with all his might and eventually fighting his way back to safety.

The experience taught him a lesson he won’t soon forget.

Fifteen students from Carnegie Learning Center, a credit recovery school in the South Madison district, participated in an event called Photo Voice Gallery on Feb. 14 at First United Methodist Church in Pendleton.

Students stood beside their projects, displayed on easels, and explained the photographs and their symbolism to people who walked up.

The goal was for students to use their photos to answer the question “How has your environment influenced the choices you’ve made?” said Wendy Cook, who helped coordinate the program.

Rose, a high school sophomore, described his other “Bad Five” photos, including a banged-up car from an accident; two images showing brain activity, representing epilepsy and a concussion, both of which he has lived with; and one of his late grandfather, Tony Jones, who died recently after a fight with leukemia.

The picture of his grandfather, he said, was only half bad, he clarified, as it represented loss but also the good things his grandfather meant to him and taught him.

The other nine photographs in his display were positive, he said — representing sports, which he loves to watch and play; video games, which allow him to relax and connect with friends; and Marvel, DC and Hulu, media companies whose products he said are not only a source of entertainment but also inspiration for his own creative thinking.

Fellow student Meghan Ruiz, 16, focused her Photo Voice presentation on her friends and family, people who “are my support system.

“They’re everything to me, honestly,” she said.

Ruiz said she spent about eight hours during a two-week period, assembling her montage, and enjoyed the gallery presentation.

“I think it’s actually pretty rewarding, because we get to tell people a little about us, something everybody doesn’t get to do every day,” she said.

“I think it’s good to look at the positive side of life.”

The gallery was open to the public, and dozens of people attended the event, including teachers, law enforcement offices, administrators and other community members.

Cook, who is married to the school’s administrator, Chad Cook, helped run the program through Intersect, a non-profit organization aimed at improving the lives of families in Madison County.

Previously, she said the project was a good outlet for the students and gave the public a chance to interact with students who might not be used to the limelight. On Feb. 14, she said the project aims to show the students they are “valued, appreciated and loved — I think we’ve accomplished that today.”

Other students who participated included: Noah Boone, Peyton Branham, Kyle Cherry, Ryan Fite, Alex Flynn, Zach Garman, Jayke Herndon, Larry Risher, Noah Rodney, Micole Sebring, Ben Seibert, Cameron Shepard and Payton Walker.