Spotlighting the talents and experiences of students who previously studied abroad for a semester, the department of World Languages and Cultures held a study abroad photo contest. Entries were exhibited and winners were announced at the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Gallery on Tuesday, April 8.
Attendees of the event enjoyed popcorn, cookies, and refreshments while they gazed upon the beauty of foreign artistic compositions and their captions. Student photographers such as Xi Wen, Levi Mahler, Amado Ruiz, Ajani Wade-Patillo were among the attendees and had the opportunity to explain the thought processes of their photographs.
“This self portrait in Kyoto is very significant to me because it was [taken] when I started traveling on my own. I found that solo traveling is interesting– like you have so much freedom and explore what you can do,” said Xi Wen, a fourth-year Japanese language and culture major, who chose to study abroad in Japan in early 2024.
“It is interesting to learn about new cultures and getting to know more places and what stories they represent,” said Alexandra Aguilar, a fourth-year Spanish language and culture major.
What began as a single event at 6 p.m. blossomed into a celebration of twofold joy. Attendees were invited to room 1401 as the WLC recognized about 43 students from lower and upper division classes. They were awarded with global competence and seal of biliteracy in the language they chose to learn based on how well they perform on their Language Assessment/ AVANT STAMP Test.
“It’s cool to see and learn about the study abroad experience. I haven’t gone abroad yet, but I am going to go [to Japan] after this semester,” said Cameron Hiura, a third-year Japanese language and culture student, who earned a gold-level seal of biliteracy and is excited to be part of the next study abroad photo contest.
As the event drew to a close, Dustin Wright, chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures at CSUMB, took the stage to announce the winners of the study abroad photography contest. The photos were judged by professors at CSUMB who enjoy photography as a hobby and some as a profession.
Amado Ruiz, a fourth-year Japanese language and culture major, won the best photography award for his photo of Mount Fuji while he was in a modernized rural village. In his caption, he shares a captivating story his bus driver told him about Mount Fuji, the shy goddess. His work and attention to detail earned latitudes of applause from the audience.
“Studying abroad is beneficial. We know to come back and have the opportunity to reflect on that experience rather than just kind of jump back into your daily life. It is encouraged to reflect on what that experience meant and how you saw it for your own lens and your mental lens,” said Dustin Wright.