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Senior Grace Puffer, of Fletcher

Major: Commercial photography

Category: What you miss most about being abroad

Puffer shot this photo of a couple, lower left, enjoying a picnic on the bank of the Salzach River in Salzburg, Austria. She said, “I walked the city all day and watched the sunset behind the zenith of the historic Salzburg . . . I knew I would deeply miss the quiet but steady pulse of the cities I had been so lucky to visit. There is nothing quite like documenting the subtle but monumental history packed so tightly into such welcoming cities that are home to so many kind and beautiful people.”

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Senior Monique Geter, of Charlotte

Major: Global studies

Category: New friendships

Studying abroad can stir up a variety of emotions, among them nervousness and fear, but making new friendships eased some of her worries, Geter said. Taken in mid-January, this photo includes Geter, second from right, in front of a panda sculpture called “I am Here,” located on the rooftop of the International Finance Square in Chengdu, China. Due to the pandemic, Geter’s program ended just two weeks after this photo was taken, but she continued to foster her new friendships through social media.

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Junior Isabella Riley, of Southern Pines

Major: Marketing–sales

Category: First photograph taken abroad

Riley took this selfie on her first day in Puebla, Mexico, during spring break 2020. She said, “I was walking downtown with my travel group and was astounded by the culture and environment. The street food, music, shops and smells wrapped around me. I was so excited and happy, so I sent this photo to my dad to let him know we were in Mexico, (and that) I was safe and I was loving it!”

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Dr. Scott Relyea

Associate professor of Asian history in the Department of History

Category: Travel interrupted

Relyea described his experience taking this photo on Mount Fanjing in southwest China’s Guizhou province as “travel extended and redirected.” Based in Beijing and supported by an American Council of Learned Societies grant, Relyea was forced to put a planned mountain climb, as well as his research, on hold for many weeks due the pandemic. In August, he was finally able to climb a mountain, though one different from his original destination.

He said, “When I shot this photo — after a hike of more than 7,000 steps and before ascending the final several hundred to the twin temples atop the 2,336 meter-high peak, I held a mix of emotions. After so many weeks, I was thrilled that we stood in the fresh air atop a mountain, seemingly reproducing almost ‘normal,’ pre-COVID times.”

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Alumna Kierstin Davis ’20, of Columbus, Ohio

Degree: B.S. in biology

Category: What you miss most about being abroad

Davis was in London’s Camden Market when she and her friend stumbled upon a lantern shop, where her friend took this photo of her. “This picture reminds me of all the beautiful markets and diverse cultures I got to experience in London. It was truly remarkable,” Davis said.

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Rebekah Saylors ’08

Director of marketing, communications and engagement in the Reich College of Education

Category: What you miss most about being abroad

Saylors captured this moment during her final evening in Havana, Cuba, in January. “I miss being able to explore new places, meet new people and have new experiences,” she said.

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Dr. Michael Young

Associate professor in the Department of Management

Category: Culture Shock

“Over the past 30 years China has undergone an economic transformation whereby 1 billion people have been lifted from subsistence-level poverty to modern standards of living. China’s economic awakening is one of the most important events of this era . . . yet this transformation has happened so rapidly that many areas are left behind,” Young said. The scene in this photo, taken in the Jiuxian Village of China’s Guangxi province, depicts an ancient farming technique still being used today.

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Kaïn Kerkhove, an exchange student from Bellegem, Belgium

Major: Industrial design

Category: First photograph taken abroad

Kerkhove, who arrived in Boone in early January, said he was so excited to see a Walmart for the first time that this was the first photo he snapped.

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Senior Savanna Langhorne, of Columbia, South Carolina

Major: Global studies, with minors in Spanish and anthropology

Category: New friendships

Langhorne was camping with friends beside the Maipo River in Chile when they struck up a conversation with a man sitting on his horse as it drank from the river. The rider was a tour guide for horseback rides and invited them to schedule a tour. Due to the pandemic, Langhorne’s trip was cut short and she and her friends were unable to take the tour, but she said she fondly remembers meeting the man.

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Senior Rebecca Grizzle, of Lexington

Major: Accounting

Category: Travel interrupted

Grizzle, who was able to complete her spring break study abroad in Mexico, said the trip was “mentally interrupted” as she and her travel companions learned about the extent of the pandemic. “As we flew away, I couldn’t help but feel scared about going back to the U.S. But as we took off, the sun was rising over the Yucatán Peninsula as if to say goodbye and everything would be alright,” she said.

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Junior Emery Turner, of Columbia, South Carolina

Major: Global studies and Spanish

Category: Culture shock

Turner snapped this photo on March 8, International Women’s Day, at a march held in Valparaiso, Chile. She said, “It was overwhelming at first to see the thousands of women in the streets chanting and singing. Even though it looked extremely different from the marches I have been to in the U.S., I was so empowered seeing all these amazing women standing up for what they believed in about their gender. I am glad I was able to have this experience and see how Chileans fight to have their voices heard.”

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Capturing an unusual year: App State’s 2020 International Education Week Photo Contest

App State a top-3 school for education abroad

Appalachian State University has been recognized as a top-three school for students who study abroad in the “2020 Open Doors” report published by the Institute of International Education.

The university received the following rankings:

  • 2nd nationally for the number of students who participated in short-term programs for academic credit during 2018–19.
  • 3rd nationally among comprehensive master’s degree-granting institutions for the total number of students who studied abroad for academic credit in 2018–19.
By Jan Todd
Posted Nov. 2, 2020 at 6:44 p.m.

BOONE, N.C. — This year has provided many opportunities to develop new perspectives. Appalachian State University’s Office of International Education and Development (OIED) invited students, faculty and staff to express their perspectives by submitting photos taken during international education experiences — capturing local atmosphere, street life, landscapes, architecture, people and activities.

Each year OIED sponsors this photography contest, and winning photos are announced at App State’s Global Symposium during International Education Week (IEW). This year’s event was held virtually Oct. 28.

The pandemic closed the shutter on international travel for the last portion of the 2019–20 academic year, so OIED incorporated the year’s challenges in the photo contest theme — “2020 Resiliency” — and introduced five contest categories:

  • First photograph taken abroad, with a description of why the entrant snapped the picture.
  • New friendships, with a description of the relationship and why it was meaningful.
  • Culture shock, representing a subject the photographer didn’t expect to learn about or find.
  • What you miss the most about being abroad, representing a fond memory from travelers’ international experience — from food, to people, to natural beauty.
  • Travel interrupted, representing travel cut short by the pandemic.

With 35 entries, participation in the contest was about one-fourth of the number of entries in a typical year, said Mark Hagen, OIED’s assistant director of education abroad. Recognizing the unusual circumstances — and new perspectives — of this year’s applicants, Hagen said the IEW committee decided to declare all entries as winners, embodying this year’s resiliency contest theme.

This photo gallery includes a sampling of the contest’s 35 entries. To view all entries, visit this virtual album.

For more information about IEW worldwide, visit https://iew.state.gov.

App State a top-3 school for education abroad

Appalachian State University has been recognized as a top-three school for students who study abroad in the “2020 Open Doors” report published by the Institute of International Education.

The university received the following rankings:

  • 2nd nationally for the number of students who participated in short-term programs for academic credit during 2018–19.
  • 3rd nationally among comprehensive master’s degree-granting institutions for the total number of students who studied abroad for academic credit in 2018–19.

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

International Education Week
International Education Week

A joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education

International Education Week (IEW) is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of our efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences.

Learn more
Global Learning at Appalachian
Global Learning at Appalachian

It’s not enough to be globally aware. Appalachian graduates must be globally competent.

National surveys indicate that high school seniors and their families — as well as employers — expect college graduates to develop an increased global awareness and/or competency, as they will likely encounter coworkers, clients and neighbors from different cultures in their professions. Appalachian has adopted Global Learning for its Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), an important component of our accreditation.

Learn more

About the Office of International Programs

Appalachian State University combines a strong liberal arts foundation with a comprehensive, pervasive and integrated commitment to global engagement. The Office of International Programs assists App State in fulfilling its global engagement mission by working to develop awareness, knowledge, appreciation and respect of cultural differences — in both domestic and international contexts — in the university’s students, faculty and staff, as well as in the surrounding communities. Learn more at https://international.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

App State a top-3 school for education abroad

Appalachian State University has been recognized as a top-three school for students who study abroad in the “2020 Open Doors” report published by the Institute of International Education.

The university received the following rankings:

  • 2nd nationally for the number of students who participated in short-term programs for academic credit during 2018–19.
  • 3rd nationally among comprehensive master’s degree-granting institutions for the total number of students who studied abroad for academic credit in 2018–19.
International Education Week
International Education Week

A joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education

International Education Week (IEW) is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of our efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences.

Learn more
Global Learning at Appalachian
Global Learning at Appalachian

It’s not enough to be globally aware. Appalachian graduates must be globally competent.

National surveys indicate that high school seniors and their families — as well as employers — expect college graduates to develop an increased global awareness and/or competency, as they will likely encounter coworkers, clients and neighbors from different cultures in their professions. Appalachian has adopted Global Learning for its Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), an important component of our accreditation.

Learn more

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

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  • Faculty and Staff
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What do you think?

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Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
  • Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian

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Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
  • Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
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