An Underwater Tectonic Touch Earns a Duke Time Off Photo Prize

Jennifer Greyber visits Iceland to snorkel at the Silfra Fissure

In a snorkle and goggles, Jennifer Greyber touches both the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates while swimming through the Silfra Fissures in Iceland. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Greyber.
In a snorkle and goggles, Jennifer Greyber touches both the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates at the same time while swimming through the Silfra Fissures in Iceland. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Greyber.

It might sound unconventional to stop in Iceland on the way to Israel, but that’s exactly what Jennifer Greyber and her husband, Daniel, did in mid-June.

Greyber, a program coordinator for the Duke-UNC Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training Program, and her husband, a rabbi at Beth El Synagogue in Durham, have been to Israel together more times than they can count. In their 20s, they met and lived in Israel.

In June, before a three-week stay in Jerusalem for her husband to complete a continuing education fellowship with other rabbis, they took a “much-needed” vacation on their way to Israel.

They took advantage of a non-stop flight from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Reykjavik, Iceland, where they created unforgettable memories hiking, swimming and exploring a new place.

“That extra week was pure vacation,” Greyber said. “We were really off the grid in terms of work. We just needed to recharge.”

Jennifer Greyber has one hand touching each of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates at the Silfra Fissure in Iceland. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Greyber.

The highlight of the trip included an excursion to snorkel for an hour around the volcanic Silfra Fissure, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates diverge. While swimming in chilly, but crystal-clear 38-degree water, Greyber's guide captured a photo of her touching both continental plates at the same time.

The image was selected as the fourth winner of the 2023 Duke Time off campaign, earning Greyber a Duke-branded gym bag, courtesy of Duke University Stores.

“It’s just completely serene,” Greyber said. “There aren’t fish really, at least in the part we were in. It was perfect visibility, and you just kind of float and paddle along. It’s like looking into another world.”

We welcome pictures of your special moments and off the beaten path adventures that capture your summer reprieve – everything from a backyard barbecue and beach getaway to a long-awaited international trip that highlight the ways you use your time off benefit.

How to share your 2023 summer pictures:

  • Post and tag a photo on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook with #DukeTimeOff and tag us. Tell us what you’re doing with your time away from work. Remember to include #DukeTimeOff in your post and tag us on social, so we can find your snapshots on social media.
  • If you’re not on social media or prefer to share your picture another way, go to hr.duke.edu/DukeTimeOff2023 to upload your picture.

We encourage frequent submissions (there’s a prize for a shutterbug), but only the first picture in a series will be entered whenever one submission contains multiple images. Collage photographs and videos are not eligible for prizes.

To be eligible for prizes, photographs must be taken between May 24, 2023 through Aug. 6, 2023, and shared by current University and Health System staff and faculty during the same time period. The deadline for submissions is 12 p.m. Aug. 7.

During the campaign, the Working@Duke editorial team will award Duke-themed merchandise from the Duke eStore, courtesy of Duke University Stores. All eligible pictures shared throughout the course of the campaign – May 24, 2023, through Aug. 6, 2023 – will be in the running for these grand prizes:

  • A “Classic Package for Two” at the Washington Duke Inn, which includes a king or double/double room for one night and full breakfast for two in the Vista Room or room service, courtesy of the Washington Duke Inn. Sunday brunch is not eligible.
  • A Walking with Lemurs tour for four with Lemur Center Executive Director Greg Dye, courtesy of the Duke Lemur Center.

Grand prize winners will be announced on Working@Duke in late August.

Send story ideas, shout-outs and photographs through our story idea form or write working@duke.edu.

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