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AugieAbroad Photo Contest winners

The 2012 Augie Abroad Photo Contest was open to all students who traveled internationally with Augustana or Augie Choice funds between May 2011 and March 2012. There were more than 170 entries from more than 50 students on programs on six continents.

Grand prize winner Edwin Fonseca was awarded a $200 gift card to use with American Airlines. Other winners received a $20 iTunes gift card.

Winners

Grand Prize Winner: Edwin Fonseca, Summer Spanish in the Andes
Architecture winner: John Cairns, Winter Term in Brazil
Architecture honorable mention: Leigh Lasota, Childhood in the Developing World in Guatemala
Augie Students Abroad: Anna Malysz, Summer Spanish in the Andes
Augie Students Abroad honorable mention: Edwin Fonseca, Summer Spanish in the Andes
Culture: Claire Behnke, Summer Spanish in the Andes
Culture honorable mention: Rachel Warmke, Winter Term in Vietnam
Daily Life: Rachel Warmke, Winter Term in Vietnam
Daily Life honorable mention: Anna Malysz, Summer Spanish in the Andes
Nature: Cody Heche, People to People International in Kenya (Augie Choice funded)
Nature honorable mention: Emily Hayes, Winter Term in Australia

Grand Prize Winner: Edwin Fonseca, Summer Spanish in the Andes. "This photo captures a piece of scenic Peruvian landscape. More specifically, the mountains in the background are the famous Andes. What originally struck my attention was the town at the base of the mountains, but after a few steps back, the mountains began to creep into my scope. Very much like the diverse culture of South America, the viewer can see a number of elements in this image. What I love about this photograph is the perfect synchronization of simplicity and complexity that is found in nature. In this depiction of the Andes Mountains, I see a unity of the four classical elements (Wind, Water, Fire, & Earth) in the overshadowing rain clouds, the cold and sharp snow caps, the illuminating light of the sun, and the imposing range of the land."
Architecture winner: John Cairns, Winter Term in Brazil. "Brazil's National Congress, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, representing the modernist style which permeates the capital city of Brasilia. The upper house, or Senate, is housed in the dome to the right while the lower house resides in the inverted dome to the left."
Architecture honorable mention: Leigh Lasota, Childhood in the Developing World in Guatemala. "Close up of a home just outside of "the dump" in Guatemala city. The houses were packed side by side, most with walls similar to this. Despite the poverty of this area, there was beauty in simple things such as this potted plant in the window. Beauty was found most of all, however, in the people we encountered."
Augie Students Abroad: Anna Malysz, Summer Spanish in the Andes. "Taken in the village of the Shuar tribe in the Amazon, this was one of the most magical days of the entire experience for many of us. Despite their young age and inexperience, children are just as good as teachers as they are as learners. In this photo we are playing a popular game that would be categorized in our terms as a combination of "ring around the rosie" and "duck duck goose."
Augie Students Abroad honorable mention: Edwin Fonseca, Summer Spanish in the Andes. Augustana students sit along the footpath to Machu Picchu, contemplating the sprawling Incan city which had lain undiscovered for centuries and which remains only partially uncovered today.
Culture: Claire Behnke, Summer Spanish in the Andes. “This photo represents the amazing syncretism of culture in the Andes. All over Ecuador there are churches representing the strong influence of Spanish culture on the region and the strength of Catholicism, but there still remains a large indigenous population. Here you see a woman in her every day wear with the bold colored shawl, and colorful skirt and long braided hair, which represent the native indigenous culture that still thrives in Ecuador, but she's praying in a Catholic church. While in Ecuador, we studied many ways in which the Spanish culture integrated aspects of the indigenous culture and ways in which the indigenous adapted to the newer Spanish culture, in pieces of art, architecture, music, and medicine but this is an active example of the ways in which the two cultures intermingle. This picture was taken the summer of 2011 in Gualaceo, Ecuador.”
Culture honorable mention: Rachel Warmke, Winter Term in Vietnam. This is a traditional ceremony of the Cao Dai religion, which infuses elements of Buddhism, Taoism, and Islam into their worship services.
Daily Life: Rachel Warmke, Winter Term in Vietnam. "Residents set up shop near the Mekong River, selling fresh fruits and local goods under the shade of a bridge, paying no mind to the garbage that litters the ground. Because of poor health education, rural communities in Vietnam often have heaps of garbage strewn all over public areas, since no family wishes to have garbage take up room in their own homes."
Daily Life honorable mention: Anna Malysz, Summer Spanish in the Andes. "Taken at a villager's home in Saraguro, Ecuador. I saw this shy, intrigued, boy strumming away at his guitar, and couldn't help but capture the moment. His father, also a musician, played for us earlier, so it is rather clear to see who this boy models after!"
Nature: Cody Heche, People to People International in Kenya (Augie Choice funded). "On my trip to Kenya, I not only got to work with orphaned children but with orphaned animals including giraffes and elephants. In this picture, I learned that putting a food pebble in your mouth earns a kiss from a giraffe."
Nature honorable mention: Emily Hayes, Winter Term in Australia. The Razorback rock formation along the Great Ocean Road in Australia.