International Student Photo Contest
The Student Wellness Team sponsored a photo contest for international students, where the theme is "The international experience in focus: Photos from our lives". International students were invited to submit a photo and a paragraph about one of their experiences in the U.S. This experience can be exciting, challenging, surprising, confusing, or touching. The picture can reflect feelings, observations, or learning experiences about living in two cultures (American culture & your original culture). The paragraph describes what this picture means to them and how this experience has impacted them and their adjustment in the U.S.
All pictures were reviewed by a group of judges from the Student Wellness Team and other offices on campus. The top 15 pictures were exhibited in the International Student Wellness Day event on 4/7/2011 in Student Union Lobby. Anyone who stops by the International Student Wellness Day event on 4/7 could vote for their favorite picture. After the judging and voting process, we are proud to announce the winners:
Judges' Choice
First Place
Name: Madeeha Shams
Country of origin: Pakistan
Academic department: Biophysics
Academic status: Graduate student
"Plucking up the courage to release the flimsy cord holding 6 dangly female feet sixty meters above teeming crowds uplifting their heads to ooh and aah was exciting, challenging, surprising, bewildering and touching at the same time. Three young women from Pakistan, China and Indonesia came together and dared what none of the men in a group of thirty did. This is indeed the power of individualistic freedom this country has vowed to allow all of its people!"
Second Place
Name: Tania Sharma
Country of origin: India
Academic department: Counseling, School and Educational Psychology (CSEP)
Academic status: Graduate student
"Never having traveled so far away from home, all by myself, my first week in the US felt like being on a ‘different planet’! This picture that I clicked at Niagara Falls on an ISSS organized trip remains a reminder of that connecting force of nature, which helped me adjust to my new temporary home-UB, Buffalo, NY. These plants almost spoke to me, in very simple terms, that just as they can grow perfectly on a different face of the earth, retain their strength and beauty, receive nourishment and shine in the same sunlight that bathes every corner of the earth, so could I survive and retain my identity. Hence, I embraced the place for basic nature and human nature are the same globally. It took about 3 months for it to sink in that my displacement had been for real during which nature was my constant guide and companion."
Third Place
Name: Sadia Farzana
Country of origin: Bangladesh
Academic department: Economics
Academic status: Graduate student
"'USA' - to me this had always been an acronym redolent of vibrant dreams. I had always aspired to go study in the US and consequently get to visit famous landmarks, beautiful places and experience the wonderful juxtaposition of the gamut of cultures. However, when I finally got the visa, sadness clouded my happiness since I would have to leave my near and dear ones, the familiar surroundings and an endless list of favorites, thousands and thousands miles behind. I landed in NYC with a heavy heart, wishing to give up my dreams and get back home right off."
"After two days, I got the chance to take a trip to the Statue of Liberty. I completely got overwhelmed at the first sight of the structure- I had seen pictures of this famous landmark so many times on TV, newspapers etc. and I just couldn't believe that it was then right before my eyes. At once my heart was filled with joy thinking that 'yes, I am living my dream!' The grandeur of the Statue of Liberty that presides over the vast expanse of the blue sky, sea gulls hovering over, and soft gentle breeze- everything on the island bore a sense of freedom. I truly had an amazing time roaming on the island. In my country there is a saying, which roughly means that America is a land of your dreams' fulfillment; and that day I started realizing that a host of pleasant surprises must be awaiting me and I was going to have an experience of a lifetime by living in America. Those feelings, realizations and hopes helped me a great deal in my endeavor to adapt to the new environment and new culture here in the land of the free and home of the brave."
People's Favorite Choice
Based on voting in International Student Wellness Day on 4/7/2011.
Name: Sadia Farzana
Country of origin: Bangladesh
Academic department: Economics
Academic status: Graduate student
"'USA' - to me this had always been an acronym redolent of vibrant dreams. I had always aspired to go study in the US and consequently get to visit famous landmarks, beautiful places and experience the wonderful juxtaposition of the gamut of cultures. However, when I finally got the visa, sadness clouded my happiness since I would have to leave my near and dear ones, the familiar surroundings and an endless list of favorites, thousands and thousands miles behind. I landed in NYC with a heavy heart, wishing to give up my dreams and get back home right off."
"After two days, I got the chance to take a trip to the Statue of Liberty. I completely got overwhelmed at the first sight of the structure- I had seen pictures of this famous landmark so many times on TV, newspapers etc. and I just couldn't believe that it was then right before my eyes. At once my heart was filled with joy thinking that 'yes, I am living my dream!' The grandeur of the Statue of Liberty that presides over the vast expanse of the blue sky, sea gulls hovering over, and soft gentle breeze- everything on the island bore a sense of freedom. I truly had an amazing time roaming on the island. In my country there is a saying, which roughly means that America is a land of your dreams' fulfillment; and that day I started realizing that a host of pleasant surprises must be awaiting me and I was going to have an experience of a lifetime by living in America. Those feelings, realizations and hopes helped me a great deal in my endeavor to adapt to the new environment and new culture here in the land of the free and home of the brave."