Three Study Abroad Students Win Photo Contest Prizes
December 2, 2019
Results of the International Education Week photo contest are in, and the winning photos are amazing.
Winners of the top three prizes are international students. In order of finish, they are Apiya Pompi, who visited Pisa, Italy; Gowtham Balasubramaniam, Cancun, Mexico; and Abdjine Lemaitre, Paris, France.
Pompi won a $25 campus bookstore gift card. She is working toward a degree in Architectural Engineering Technology, and studied at Florence University of the Arts. “During the weekdays I had classes,” she says. “While on the weekends I would travel and explore around Florence and its neighboring cities. I experienced the different types of foods and cultural differences that Italians carried. It was an unforgettable experience that I would recommend to anyone who ever wants to travel and study. If I ever get the opportunity to do it again, I would totally do it!”
Balasubramaniam won an FSC portfolio and stylus pen. A Mechanical Engineering Technology major, he attended PSG College of Technology, in Coimbatore, India. He says of his experience in Mexico: “At first, I was extremely nervous about going abroad because of the different cultures, new place, new people, new college, everything new. But it was such an important opportunity for me to get out of my comfort zone. It put many things from my life in India in perspective for me — relationships, careers, friendships. When I was abroad, I learned to go with the flow more, which has truly made my post-abroad life easier.”
Business Management major Lemaitre won a T-shirt and FSC passport holder. She studied at SUNY at the Sorbonne, in Paris. “Filling in that application to go to France was the best decision of my life, even though the idea of being away from my friends and family frightened me,” she says. “However, the thought of sitting in front of the Eiffel Tower with a glass of wine and baguette did not seem too bad. I met numerous wonderful friends who shared their cultures with me. I was thrilled to wake up every day to explore whatever city I was in.”
Contest submissions were made by current students and study abroad alumni from the 2018 class. Fourteen students submitted three photos each, which were displayed in the Campus Center Lobby. See the winning photos below.
Apiya Pompi
Gowtham Balasubramaniam
Abdjine Lemaitre
