Photos Depict Morocco, India, Italy, Brazil and More Moments Around Globe

Physical category winner and first runner up – TJ Christensen – Afternoon on Ipanema

Art category winner and second runner up – Sarah DaBoll Geurtz – Eiffel Tower at Dusk

People category winner and grand prize winner – Walter Ellis Lang – La Maschera

People honorable mention – Stephanie Dawn Patrick – Wide-Eyed Wonder

People honorable mention – Rebekah Hotz – Moroccan Basket

People honorable mention – Vamsi Kaliki – Colors of Southern India

Art honorable mention – Walter Ellis Lang – Dusk at the City of Arts and Sciences

Physical honorable mention – Jordan Difani – Lightning over Padova, Italy

Photo Submitted

The physical category winner and first runner up is T.J. Christensen for his image “Afternoon on Ipanema,” shot in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – There was a time on college campuses when studying abroad was considered an exotic experience, available to very few people and those were mainly arts and humanities majors. But today, studying abroad is part of the University of Arkansas experience for a much greater proportion of the student body – some 13 percent – and in all disciplines.

The world becomes a smaller place and the experiential learning that comes from traveling to a foreign country can forever change a person’s perspective. This experience enriches individuals and their college educations.

University-sponsored study abroad opportunities, administered through the Global Campus, take around 630 students to more than 40 different countries each year. More than 70 percent of such travel happens over the summer months.

“Study abroad is way more accessible,” said DeDe Long, director of study abroad. This is due to “more funding, more programs, and more institutional support to encourage students to study abroad,” she said.

To highlight the rich and robust study abroad offerings in which University of Arkansas students participate, the magazine of the Arkansas Alumni Association, Arkansas, asked students and recent graduates to submit their best pictures to a photo contest. The contest was divided into three categories: arts and ceremonies, people and the physical environment. Arkansas magazine invited Michael Peven, an art professor and photography teacher at the University of Arkansas; Art Meripol BA’77, a senior photographer for Southern Living Magazine; and Russell Cothren, longtime University of Arkansas photographer and Arkansas magazine’s photo editor to judge the competition.

The category winners, grand prize winner and honorable mentions follow.

Category Winners, Grand Prize, 1^st and 2^nd Runners Up

The winning photo in each category is published in the summer issue of Arkansas magazine. The grand prize-winner received a free Life Membership in the Arkansas Alumni Association and a Nikon Coolpix camera provided by Bedford Camera & Video. First and second runners up receive a $40 or a $20 digital print card from Bedford Camera & Video.

• The people category winner and grand prize winner is Walter Ellis Lang for the image titled “La Maschera,” taken in Venice, Italy. Lang graduated with a degree in architectural studies in May.
• The physical category winner and first runner up is T.J. Christensen for his image “Afternoon on Ipanema,” shot in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Christensen, will be a senior in the fall and is majoring in business, transportation and logistics.
• The art category winner and second runner up is Sarah DaBoll Geurtz, a landscape architecture major, for her photo titled “Eiffel Tower at Dusk.”

Category Honorable Mentions

Honorable mentions receive a copy of Etched in Stone, a pictorial coffee table book showing the scenic beauty of the University of Arkansas campus. Additionally, their photos are published in the summer 2010 Arkansas magazine.

• People honorable mention – Stephanie Dawn Patrick “Wide-Eyed Wonder”
• People honorable mention – Rebekah Hotz “Moroccan Basket”
• People honorable mention – Vamsi Kaliki “Colors of Southern India”
• Art honorable mention – Walter Ellis Lang – “Dusk at the City of the Arts and Sciences”
• Physical honorable mention – Jordan Difani “Lightening Over Padova, Italy”

The contest was sponsored by the Arkansas Alumni Association and Bedford Camera & Video, which generously donated the grand prize of a Nikon Coolpix camera and digital print cards for the first and second runners up.