Wheaton News

The Center for Global Education serves as a valuable resource for Wheaton College students, faculty and staff who wish to engage with the world. Each year, the center illustrates this by sponsoring the Eye on the World photo contest to encourage all to share images from abroad or the United States that raise cultural awareness. This year, the competition was held on April 5 and 6. Photographs from a wide variety of countries were displayed in the Balfour atrium, and viewers were asked to vote on the best in five categories. These are some of the winning photos, along with some background on the photographers.

Prize: Best Overall
Photographer: Khalid Al-Sudairy ’17
Major: Film and new media studies
Location: AlGhat, Saudi Arabia

“The people behind my niece are grad students at Columbia. My brother is finishing up his graduate degree and invited some of his classmates to Saudi Arabia for two weeks. The dress that she is wearing and her playful nature are an interesting juxtaposition to the  surroundings. I think it was the perfect moment to capture her and the landscape in one image.”

Prize: Portrait
Photographer: Chloe Anderson ’17
Major: Psychology
Location: Dali, China

“I was taking pictures of the people to promote cultural awareness of a very unknown ethnic group in Dali, the Bai people. They are very traditional, and I found their culture to be amazing.”

Prize: Landscape
Photographer: Chloe Anderson ’17
Major: Psychology
Location: Dali, China

“My older sister taught math and English in China for four years, so I went to go visit her for a few weeks. I took the landscape picture because I thought the reflection in the water was hypnotizing.”

Prize: Architecture
Photographer: Amanda Welch ’16
Major: Business and management
Location: Wat Traimit, Bangkok, Thailand

“As a lost tourist in Thailand, I was struck by the beauty and ambience of this temple. Thailand and Bhutan practice different sectors of Buddhism and through exploring their places of worship in both countries, I was able to gain a greater understanding of each religion.”

Prize: Cultural Perspectives
Photographer: William Sweet ’17
Major: Biology
Location: Sanari Village, Hamakuya, South Africa

“During my semester abroad in South Africa, we spent a week living with a family in the most rural part of the country. Every night, when the kids got out of school, we would run down to the dirt field down the road to play a quick game of soccer. One day, I decided to take photos of the game instead of playing. While running down to the field, I turned around and saw all the kids running, dust flying and the sun setting above the houses. I thought that this view perfectly captured what it was like to live in Sanari, so I decided to take the picture quickly.”

Prize: Wildlife
Photographer: William Sweet ’17
Major: Biology
Location: Kruger National Park, South Africa

“Every morning we were in Kruger during my semester abroad, we would take morning ‘game drives’ to try and find as many animals as possible. Within ten minutes of leaving we saw this leopard on the side of the road. At one point, it got within 15 to 30 feet of our car. As I am a Biology major and have always loved animals in addition to photography, I try and document each animal I see.”