Push Past the Cliché International Photo Contest Winners Announced

We received some excellent entries into our inaugural round of the Push Past the Cliché International Photo Contest. We are always very proud of our students, their work, and the experiences they have on our programs and this was no different. Our panels of judges had a very difficult task! The top winners follow below but keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages in the coming days to get a peek at more of the awesome photos we received.

Up first… the Grand Prize Winner… The two below are simply wonderful, beautiful photos that could only have been captured by students completely immersed in their experience.

Grand Prize Winner: Step Inside a Postcard | Dallas Brown (CSU Chico)
Torino, Italy Fall 2014
Dallas explains, “I spent a day exploring Burano and Murano and purchased a couple postcards from a small shop in Burano. I was in a short conversation with the shop owner and I told him about some of my experiences so far in Italy. He said, ‘you can travel another 100 meters down the road to go see that picture.’ He pointed me in the direction and I started walking. It was just a street, just a set of homes, just another postcard. But that’s when it hit me how lucky I really was. I literally stepped inside a postcard.”

A photo that exemplifies the study abroad experience of literally stepping into (or is it, out of?) a postcard into firsthand experience. Congratulations, Dallas!

Grand Prize Honorable Mention: Elephant Nature Park | Shelby Snyder (University of Kansas)
Chiang Mai, Thailand Summer 2014
Shelby explains, “This is Meadow, a rescued elephant at the Elephant Nature Park. You can’t see it but she has a permanently broken back and an injured leg from a landmine. Even with all her scars, she is still one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen and had the privilege to meet. And she loves watermelons and bananas!”

Gorgeous texture and a great moment, Shelby!

We challenged USAC alumni to push past study abroad photo clichés while responding to six categories. We didn’t want to see selfies with the Eiffel Tower in the background, students “holding up” the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or groups fake calling home from a red telephone booth. And the results were exceptional—see below if you don’t believe us!

Take a look here to see what  the original guidelines were and watch out for another photo contest soon.Thanks to everyone who participated. Watch our Facebook and Instagram pages in the coming days to get a peek at more of the awesome photos we received.

-USAC