Education Abroad photo contest brings the world to Conway
Shipwrecks, temples, elephants and tropical coral are some of the striking images Coastal Carolina University students captured during their recent international experiences. Traveling Chanticleers submitted more than 70 photos for the second Education Abroad photo contest, which recently announced its winners.
"These photo contests are a fun, colorful way for our returned students to share with the University community a little bit of what they saw, who they met, and what they were able to accomplish while living and learning abroad," said Rachel Massey, director of Education Abroad who oversees the project.
In first place, Katie McDonald’s mesmerizing, underwater image of the Coral Triangle in Indonesia offers a glimpse into a reef-filled waterscape. In second place, Olivia Post shares a photo of a group of friends celebrating their ascent to a breathtaking lookout point at the Mount Aspiring National Park in Otago, New Zealand. In third place, Erika Davis offers a playful photo of herself and a peer seated on the steps of an arched doorway in Italy. Although the images were captured during students’ education abroad programs, not all photos were taken in the country where students were studying.
The Center for Global Engagement printed and framed the top 28 images, presenting them as part of a new exhibition in the main corridor of the Lib Jackson Student Union. In December, five members of the University faculty and staff selected three finalists. Each of the top 28 finalists will receive an enlarged print of their photo, and the grand prize winners also receive a scratch-off map of the world poster.
All three finalists participated in semester-long exchange partner programs hosted by accredited universities and partners of CCU. McDonald studied finance at Deakin University in Burwood, Australia; Post studied biology at James Cook University in Cairns, Australia; and Davis studied theater arts at Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy. In most cases, students who choose an exchange partner program can pay CCU’s in-state tuition rate while registered for classes abroad – a tremendous discount for out-of-state students.
The photo exhibit remained on display through Feb. 1, 2019. The panel of jurors included:
• Franklin Ellis, Intercultural and Inclusion Student Services
• Martha Hunn, University Communication
• Ebony McCray, Accessibility and Disability Services
• Tripthi Pillai, Department of English
• Verne Walker, Career Services
About CCU Education Abroad
CCU Education Abroad facilitated international learning experiences for approximately 350 undergraduate and graduate students during academic year 2017-18. For more information about our programs all over the world, email studyabroad@coastal.edu or visit coastal.edu/educationabroad.