The University of Chicago’s Office of Study Abroad has organized annual photo, video, and writing contests since 1997. The student entries illuminate their experiences working or studying abroad.
“Each year, the submissions practically shout about the spectrum of intellectual, emotional and environmental encounters inherent to inhabiting new places,” said Associate Director of Study Abroad Kylie Zahora.
Representatives from each contest provided insights into how their entries came to fruition.
Seraphina Halpern, AB’24, completed her thesis research in anthropology with fieldwork on Prince Edward Island. She received third prize for her photo depicting a lobster crew trawling for lost traps before dawn.
"I went to Prince Edward Island to study the local lobster fishing industry, or, more specifically, how fishermen and their families make sense of the economic risk and occasional illicit activity that characterize their careers. My thesis in anthropology pulled evidence directly from the conversations I had, interactions I watched, and time I spent with the community. I am extremely grateful for the university's support for my research and the Islanders’ willingness to welcome me, without which my project wouldn't have been possible."
"To me, this photo shows the grit and beauty of fishermen’s life. Lost and unattended lobster traps continue trapping lobsters indefinitely, an environmental hazard known as 'ghost fishing.' The fishermen's union hires crews to search the region for traps between fishing seasons. I was lucky enough to join this boat for a day on the hunt for ghost fishing traps. If you look closely, you can make out the fishermen's coffee cups and cigarettes silhouetted by the sunrise as we left the harbor."
Sophia Rodriguez-Bell, AB’24, participated in a direct enrollment program at Trinity College Cambridge. She won first prize for her writing entry titled "Fuera del hogar, ya estoy aquí" (Away from home, I am already here), which explores how her Chicana identity influenced her daily experience at a British university.
"Although I knew before going to the U.K. that I would almost always be the only Chicano or Chicana in the room, I didn’t quite grasp how isolating that would be. For the most part, it was fine. But every now and then it would hit me. A holiday I celebrate would come and go without anyone else who celebrated it. I would crave tamales but had to travel 2.5 hours each way to find a place where they were double what I was used to paying."
"Being one of a few is normal but being one of one was jarring. My writing entry was essentially a thought dump; it’s unpolished but authentic to how I was thinking at that time."
Below is an excerpt from her award-winning essay:
"Two UK pints of whole milk is £1.20. A UK pint is 20oz. A pound is $1.25 give or take two pennies for market fluctuation... Whatever it was, it was more expensive than milk."
Michael Ibrahim, AB’24 joined the Middle Eastern Civilizations program in Cairo and won first prize for his video entry “Egyptian Adventure 2024,” which presents a mosaic of Egypt through short video snippets.
"It really started before I even got to Egypt when I heard a song on TikTok—a trap remix of 'Batwanes Beek' by Warda—and thought it would be fun to make a video around it," Ibrahim said.
"In essence, the whole video was built around this song... Once back home from Egypt with plenty of footage taken during my stay there—using just my phone—I began editing using CapCut."
"I wanted to showcase Egypt’s beauty beyond its well-known pyramids... Clips were taken across Alexandria Luxor Aswan Siwa—showing beautiful mosques buildings streets old Cairo sweeping sand dunes white rock formations pristine natural springs lush green fields mighty Nile sun setting over Theban mountains..."
Overall Ibrahim aimed at making an engaging visual summary highlighting his experience.