1st Place Winner

Becky Reed
Bridgewater College
Quito, Ecuador

Connecting the World through Soccer

This photo shows the final product of our painted mural. Maya Kehr (also in BCA Quito) and I are in the middle row.  Maya also came to volunteer with me the last month we were there. She also loved playing soccer with the kids and helped sketch the mural before painting it. The organizations’ founders are one the left and their names are Lore and Galo. They are a young couple who are trying to reach out to the community and continue more programs such as this one for soccer. And, of course, there are the kids. As you can see, each has an energetic personality and range in age 8 through 17. We were all very happy with our finished mural. It will be hung in the abandoned building we painted it in because the building is in the process of being renovated and put to good use for classrooms for arts and crafts and computers.

2nd Place Winner

Kaitlin Bonnar
Elizabethtown College
Strasbourg, France

This picture was taken when we toured Switzerland.  We found an old, beautiful cathedral that just happened to be named Elisabethenstrasse.  A group of girls who are enrolled at Elizabethtown College decided to pose in front of the cathedral, behind the sign; the “Elizabethtown Girls.”  From left to right, the girls are: Andrea Matz, Sarah Merusi, Kathryn Parker, and Kaitlin Bonnar.  This picture proves that no matter where one goes throughout the world, there is always a piece of home, a piece of the heart, that you take with you.  While exploring new places and interacting with others, you always leave a piece of yourself behind, and come back a newer, more refined person, hence bridging the world, no matter where you travel. 

3rd Place Winner

Eric Sader
McPherson College
Dunedin, New Zealand

Location: Skyline, Queenstown, New Zealand

McPherson College student Eric Sader takes time for a friendly photo opportunity after participating as the visiting chief in a leading Maori cultural experience.