On Exhibit: 2020 “Interrupted” Wang Center Photo Contest Winners

PLU Wang Center for Global Education’s 2020 “Interrupted” Photo Contest Winners

During the 2019-2020 academic year, 350 PLU undergraduate students participated in global and local study away programs to acquire new perspectives on critical global issues, advance their language and intercultural skills, form valuable new contacts and lasting connections, and advance their academic and career trajectory. Due to the worldwide pandemic, 46 students returned home early in spring of 2020 and PLU study away was put on hold for 2020-2021.

The Annual Wang Center Photo Contest is an opportunity for #LutesAway students to reflect upon their study away experience and provides a way for students to share the world’s images, from their perspective, with the PLU community. The print photos are displayed in PLU’s Mortvedt Library lobby and the digital photos are displayed below as a virtual exhibit.

If you’re ready to begin planning for your own study away experience and want to join the 40-50% of PLU students who study away at least once during their undergraduate education, please contact the Wang Center for Global Education.

Wang Center | www.plu.edu/wang-center/ | wang.center@plu.edu | 253-535-7577

And the winners are . . .

Libby Woods
Category: Global Classroom
Title: Granada Guided Through History

“This photo was taken during a program excursion where we travelled to the city of Córdoba to tour the Cathedral-Mosque of Córdoba. Through a guided tour, we learned the significance of the historic building that is made of a mosque surrounded by a cathedral. This is a landmark that represents the change of power between the (primary) Muslim settlers in the city, but then the eventual rule of Christianity and its leaders. However, there has been conflict within the city about who the cathedral-mosque belongs to– Muslims or Christians. The cathedral and mosque are still being used today to hold services and prayer hours. Our tour guide also talked about the architecture of the building as well. The red and white arches are the most prominent and recognizable feature.”
Cathedral-Mosque of Córdoba; Córdoba, Spain; Jan 31, 2020

Leah Foster-Koth
Category: Lutes Away
Title: Northern Lights in Tromsø, Norway

“All my life I have dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights in person, and this spring I had the opportunity to visit Tromsø, Norway and see them for myself. It was a life changing experience for me, and is commemorated in this photo.”
Tromsø, Norway February 29th, 2020

John Evanyshin
Catefgory: People & Culture
Title: Sorting Oysters and Uniting All Else

“With permission granted from those pictured in the photo, I had the privilege of photographing three community leaders on Costa Rica’s Isla Chira in the Gulf of Nicoya. The three women pictured are standing around a table that’s tabletop is filled with shallow seawater and oysters. The women are measuring the length of the oysters and sorting them into piles based on if the oysters are ready for sale or need to be returned to their offshore oyster farm. The oysters mature to a length of two inches and are then sold to hotels and restaurants on Costa Rica’s mainland. What is especially pertinent about the scene in the photo is how these women have built themselves into the island’s economy. With my CIEE class, I learned the recent history of Isla Chira. Up until twenty years ago, the island was a machismo society. Men were the breadwinners, while women tended to cooking, children and the household. The men over-harvested the fish stock offshore of the island and the island’s economy fell apart. But with the fishing economy dead, the men refused to find new work, as their masculine pride was set on being fishermen. With the social structure of the island dismantled, some of the island’s women decided to become the breadwinners. Now, in 2020, women run many of their own businesses on the island and have formed their own women’s groups. The women’s oyster farming group is in affiliation with the island’s sustainable fishing organization founded by the island’s men with assistance from the women. Within this photo is a testament to women breaking gender roles for the sake of themselves and their families. And in recreating their roles in society, the island’s women have created new sectors to the island’s now sustainable economy. Each oyster they bag for sale is another step towards greater and greater women’s sovereignty.”
23-Feb-20

Ben Leschensky
Category: Scenes from Around the World
Title: Snow?

“Before my spring term began in Aberdeen (Scotland), I had the chance to travel around Europe. One of the locations I visited was the Lofoten Islands, an archipelago above the Arctic Circle in Norway. Much to my surprise and dismay, the incredible scenery was devoid of snow (in fact, it rained for much of my time there). Who would’ve thought the Arctic Circle wouldn’t have snow in the middle of winter? It was a sobering reminder of the impacts global warming and greenhouse gasses have on our planet’s weather patterns and seasons.”
Hamnøy, Norway (Early Jan. 2020)