Fordham Notes: Study Abroad Student Photo Contest Winners

Friday, April 24, 2009

Study Abroad Student Photo Contest Winners

Fordham's Office of International and Study Abroad Programs held a photo contest this semester and the results were stunning.

Placing in the top three were:
  • Michael Noel, a junior at the College of Business Administration, got the top spot for his photo, "Mind the Gaper." Noel studied at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand last fall and captured the winning photo while climbing through the Aoraki mountain range.
  • Fordham College at Lincoln Center junior Alexandra Palomino snapped "Due Biciclette" while taking a "glimpse down a street on a quiet afternoon in Ravenna, Italy." Palomino studied abroad in Florence, Italy, this past fall.
  • Fordham College at Rose Hill junior Stephanie Caruso won third place for "Catch of the Day." Caruso studied in Cape Coast, Ghana, and the photo of fisherman bringing in Red Snapper was taken in the waters surrounding Ganvie Village in Benin.
Joseph Rienti, assistant director and international programs coordinator for International and Study Abroad Programs, said the contest was open to all study abroad alumni from the Fall 2007 through Fall 2008 semesters. The three winners were selected out of a total of 36 entries at two study abroad fairs held in early April. Students, faculty, and staff voted at the fairs. Sodexho Food Services and the University Book store donated prizes for the winners.

—Gina Vergel


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Man, the judges completely made the wrong decision. The best photograph was clearly the third place one. Its position of last of three is not only insulting to its creator but also to those photographers responsible for the un-deserving first and second place winners. By receiving this recognition from who must be incompetant judges, those top two photographers must now shoulder the burden of what'll amount to blunt patronizing feedback from anyone who's not incompetant. This reflects poorly on Fordham's ability to make subjective decisions and is particularly disheartening considering this contest's potential to really showcase the University's discerning appreciation for students who achieve above-average accomplishments.

Shame on you, Fordham, for botching what should have been a feel-good, easy, and straight-forward photo contest. Instead, you've turned it into a point of major artistic and creative contention. This will forever stand as a bold black mark in the University's history; difficult to move past; impossible to forget.

News Blog said...

Anonymous, we completely agree: this was right up there with the infamous "my coffee wasn't hot enough" complaint of '07 in the McGinley Cafeteria. Generations of art historians will look back on this as the the Dark Ages of representational photography. We expect a terse note any moment now from the New York State Board of Regents.

Anonymous said...

rigged!

Anonymous said...

Stephanie Caruso's photograph is clearly the winning image! She is not only a gifted photographer, but also one of the best students I've had the privilege of teaching. --A professor who knows!

News Blog said...

We have noted the Caruso Lobby's enthusiasm and dedication.