Around the world in 111 pictures

Members of the Rice community were able to enjoy an around-the-world adventure Feb. 19 at Rice Coffeehouse, which played host to the annual Study-Abroad Photo Contest. The contest included 111 entries from 40 Rice students. The photos were taken during students’ travels to all corners of the globe.

Wiess College senior Sasha Ajaz’s photo, “A Goat Herder of Chefchaouen,” received the Best in Show Award. The picture was taken in Chefchaouen, Morocco, and depicts a local goat herder leading his flock through the mountainous city to reach grazing lands. The city’s walls and buildings are painted a vibrant blue color.

“This goat herder has a strenuous day ahead of him, but the ambience of the blue city adds calm,” Ajaz said.

This was the sixth year for the contest, which requires that entrants submit a short explanation of how their photo submission captured something special and unique about the location, the people or the culture of the region they visited.

The People’s Choice Award winner will be selected March 14 according to which picture receives the greatest number of Facebook likes. The pictures are available online at on.fb.me/1VF30Nv. Rice faculty members serving on the judging panel determined the other winners, which include the following:

Category: People
Winner: “A Goat Herder of Chefchaouen” (Sasha Ajaz)
Second place: “Tannery in Fez” (Julianna Drew)

Category: Places
Winner: “Atlantida” (Sarah Paschal Gerenday)
Second place: “Salzburg” (Giulia Campana)

Category: Nature
Winner: “Argan Tree Goats” (Sasha Ajaz)
Second place: “Las Salinas” (Emily Jacobson)

Category: Everyday Life
Winner: “Firecracker” (Ian Mellor-Crummey)
Second place: “Bubbles in Parc de la Ciutadella” (Julianna Drew)

For more information on Rice’s study-abroad programs, visit http://abroad.rice.edu/.