Photo Contest

SMCCCD Study Abroad hosted the inaugural Study Abroad Photo Contest in November 2023 during the annual International Education Week. We received more than 70 study abroad photos this year from 12 participants, including both study abroad and international students at SMCCCD. Each photo has a story and each photo is an unforgettable moment in our students’ study abroad experience. We hope the photos can inspire the SMCCCD students and community to learn and embrace the world.

Congratulations to the winners!

Contest Winners

The number listed after the awardee's name indicates their order in the full slideshow of submissions.

Category: Host Country Landscape/Culture

a view of the Ponte Vecchio bridge during a pink and purple sunset reflecting off the sky and water

1st Prize: Grace Weber (#4)
Spring 2020, Florence

"Taken the day I arrived, 3 February 2020, this was my first impression of the Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence. I felt so full of hope."

an azure bay with white motorboats among Spanish cliffs and a stone port city

2nd Prize: Jared Segura (#11)
Fall 2023, Barcelona

"Tossa de Mar, Spain"

The Eiffel Tower is visible in the distance behind the bare branches of trees in a park

3rd Prize: Liz Jordan (#5)
2023 Art in France Community Travel

"Eiffel Tower at dusk"

Category: SMCCCD Student(s) Self-Portrait

a girl in black sits in the sunlight on a wooden art piece in front of a shaded Italian courtyard cafe

1st Prize: Nicole Condez (#2)
Spring 2023 Florence

“Last week in Florence, May 2023. Sun is out, but finally with rays warm enough to kiss your skin after a cold, windy winter. Le Murate Caffè Letterario. A courtyard cafe in an old jail. My gatekept safe haven shared with special friends.”

smiling group of students sit in foreground of a packed crowd on an outdoor staircase, including a couple getting married behind them

2nd Prize: Nicole Condez (#10)
Spring 2023 Florence

“Last Day in Florence, May 2023. Piazza Michelangelo during the most beautiful sunset of the season. Lots of Korean tourists getting married on these steps. TV Sitcom-esque thumbnail of a photo.”

smiling woman holds up her sketchbook as she sits on an Italian stone fountain

3rd Prize: Liz Scotta (#18)
Summer 2019 Italian Fashion

“Liz filled a sketchbook of illustrations in Italy. After a bambina watched her draw, she asked a 10 year old girl to take her photo.”

Category: Cultural Immersion

blonde girl takes a selfie with a smiling couple standing behind a glass pastry case in an Italian cafe

1st Prize: Emily O’Donnell (#13)
Spring 2023 Florence

“Gino’s café”

bald man smiles and wraps a companionable arm around a smiling female student outside of his Italian shop

2nd Prize: Nicole Condez (#10)
Spring 2023 Florence

“Sienna and I became the best of friends after this day. Over our love of clothes and creativity, she's my partner in crime. Next to her is Antonio. The legend who sold us our first authentic leather sheepskin coats and enabled the start of a friendship so special.”

smiling man in wheelchair sits at a dinner table with his fellow travelers in a colorful restaurant, watching a band and dancers

3rd Prize: Philip Georgy (#20)
Summer 2023 Barcelona

“Farewell dinner at Pueblo Espanol”

All Contest Submissions

Thank you to all of our participants!