We want to thank the over 400 students, faculty, staff and alumni who have shared nearly 1000 photos of their adventures near and far. Every school and college is represented, including students from other colleges who are currently participating in a BU Study Abroad Program. There are close to 200 pictures from across the US, which is one of the 78 countries represented. I has been such a pleasure seeing all of the amazing places the BU community has been and the diversity of experiences you have had. Without further ado, here are the 12 finalists and 3 winners of the 2017 Global Programs Photo Contest. Enjoy!

First Place: Laura Burvill, COM, Melbourne, Australia

“I am fairly particular about how I travel. I don’t like to follow a play-by-play or pack-in twenty different activities into a week-long trip. I enjoy leaving my days open and flexible. This helps me answer the question, why do people choose to live here? What makes this place special? I seek out the spots within a city with character, passion, expression, and complexity. I hunt for the local food and street art, these I believe bring vibrant life to any city. Melbourne rewarded my exploration with a rich gift. I discovered a winding network of captivating and buzzing Laneways leading away from the more corporate and tidy streets. The further in I delved, the more layers to the city I discovered. I had found Melbourne’s soul.”

Second Place: Leyao Xie, COM, Longji, Guangxi

“This photo was shoot in a very famous terraced fields call Longji Titian in Guangxi Province in China. I was following the local farmers from their work to their home. This image capture the peculiar shape of their field and illustrate the local farmer’s life style. The photo has a Chinese name call “天路”, which mean the way to the end of sky.”

Third Place: Hanwen Wu, GRS, Iceland

“This is an ice cave under the southern part of Vatnajökull (Vatna Glacier). Its formation is due to melting water from the glacier. While enjoying this unearthly beautiful formation, our tour guide told us that he had to drive about 5-10 more minutes to reach the entrance compared to just last year. The entrances of such caves are retreating in record speed in recent years due to global warming. He said with all his heart that he may eventually lost his job as a cave guide since these caves will be disappearing if the average temperature keeps rising.”

Runners Up (in no particular order)