Annual Photo Contest
A Celebration of Study Abroad Experiences
We invite you to participate in the Annual Photo Contest hosted by the CLC and the Office of Overseas Studies!
This contest celebrates students’ unique experiences and cultural immersion while studying abroad.
Submit your photo(s) if you are an undergraduate student who has participated in one of the approved 2025-26. The deadline is to be determined.
For questions, email Professor M. Mercedes Fages Agudo at fagesagu@usc.edu.
Submit Your Photo for the Next Academic Year!
Deadline: TBD
Categories:
Nature (landscapes, flora, fauna, etc.)
People (portraits, selfies, candid portraits, etc.)
Culture (food, art, celebrations, festivals, etc.)
City (architecture, signs, means of transportation, city life, etc.)
Sponsors:
USC Dornsife Office of Overseas Studies
USC Dornsife Center for Languages and Cultures
Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures
Department of French and Italian
Organizing Committee:
Mercedes Fages Agudo, Chair
Jaclyn Cohen-Steinberg
Jamie Fudacz
David Zarazúa
Jennifer Misran
Francesca Ricciardelli
Judges:
Adrian Cohen
Clare Hebert
Lina Kogan
Michael Misran
Julieta Reynoso
Pasqualino Sollazzo
Andrea Storey
Beatriz Valls
Dave Young Kim
Winners of the Past Photo Contests
2025
City Category
1st place: Chloé-Eloïse Mallet (Syracuse University in Italy)
2nd place: Sammy Molina (ITAL 220 – Rome, Florence, Venice, Italy)
2nd place: Tori Frank (USC Madrid)
2nd place: Elliot Jones (SPAN 220 – Spain)
Culture Category
1st place: Rui Zhang (Sophia University in Japan)
2nd place: Angela Wu (EALC 204, 206, 304 – Taiwan)
3rd place: Chloé-Eloïse Mallet (Syracuse University in Italy)
Nature Category
1st place: Angela Wu (EALC 204, 206, 304 – Taiwan)
2nd place: Rui Zhang (Sophia University in Japan)
3rd place: Elliot Jones (SPAN 220 – Spain)
People Category
1st place: Angela Wu (EALC 204, 206, 304 – Taiwan)
2nd place: KShae Reyes (FREN 150, 220, 250, 300, 310 330, 490X – France)
3rd place: Julia Kess (ITAL 220 – Rome, Florence, Venice, Italy)
2025 Winning Photos
Winners of the Past Photo Contests
2024
City Category
1st place: Madeleine Tozer (USC Paris)
2nd place: Ruby Perlman (USC Madrid)
3rd place: Hanna Bryce (USC Madrid)
4th place: Talitha Newsom Callan (NUS in Singapore)
Culture Category
1st place: Isaac Millians (EALC 204, 206, 304 – Taiwan)
2nd place: Audrey Schreck (EALC 204, 206, 304 – Taiwan)
3rd place: Hailey Hillstock (USC Paris)
4th place: Paige Mercer (FREN 220 – Martinique, French Republic)
Nature Category
1st place: Stephen Rothrock (Galapagos, Ecuador)
2nd place: Arun Ahuja (SPAN397 – Cusco, Perú)
3rd place: Paige Mercer (FREN 220 – Martinique, French Republic)
4th place: Isaac Millians (EALC 204, 206, 304 – Taiwan)
People Category
1st place: Skye Dizon (ARAB 1: Arab American Language Institute)
2nd place: Marissa Briones (FREN 307g: Public Memory and the Ghosts of History)
3rd place: Talitha Newsom Callan (NUS in Singapore)
4th place: Hanna Bryce (USC Madrid)
2024 Winning Photos
2023
Everyday Scenes Category
1st place: Lyla Kirkpatrick (FREN 220 – La Martinique, Caribbean)
2nd place: Kimberly Rochin (SPAN 499 – Buenos Aires, Argentina)
3rd place: Cole Dubrow (SPAN 396 – Oaxaca, Mexico)
Honorable Mention: Riya Valaulikar (CET Taipei – Taipei, Taiwan)
People Category
1st place: Lyla Kirkpatrick (FREN 220 – La Martinique, Caribbean)
2nd place: Nathan Kim (Yonsei University – South Korea)
3rd place: Peter Liu (Nanzan University – Japan)
Honorable Mention: Tylar Hedrick (ARTL 310 – France)
Landscapes Category
1st place: Katrina Huynh (SPAN 396 – Oaxaca, Mexico)
2nd place: Peter Liu (Nanzan University – Japan)
3rd place: Selene Castillo (SPAN 499 – Costa Rica)
Honorable Mention: Selene Castillo (SPAN 499 – Costa Rica)
2023 Winning Photos
Contest Judges
Julieta Reynoso was born in Mexico City and raised in LA. She is an educator and fine artist. Her artistic practices include ceramics, graphic design, photography, and screen-printing. She currently works as a Teaching Artist at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, CA and as an Associate Teacher at Sequoyah School also in Pasadena, CA.
Andrea Storey is a Study Abroad Advisor at Dornsife Office for Overseas Studies (Ireland, Latin America and United Kingdom). She holds a BA and a BS from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and a MA from Northeastern Illinois University,. She speaks English and Spanish, has lived in Spain and dreams of traveling to New Zealand and Croatia. Fun fact: She’s been skydiving and SCUBA diving in FIji.
Pasqualino Sollazzo has a strong understanding of all building systems and brings effective problem solving, optimal quality control, quality assurance and team oversight across INTEGRARE® projects. He started his career as a Structural Engineer at WSP USA in New York City, followed by Project Engineer roles at Englekirk and Howard CDM in Los Angeles. Pasqualino has a dual Master’s degree focused on Civil Engineering and Construction Management from Columbia University and Università di Bologna. In addition to a PE license, he also holds CAPM, CMIT, and LEED AP BD+C certifications.
Lina Kogan was born in Ukraine. She moved to the US in 1992 and graduated from USC in 2000 with a Masters degree in Computer Science, Multimedia and Creative Technologies. Kogan’s first ceramic sculptures emerged in 1996, followed by mixed media and experimental abstracts. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California. She is an award winning contemporary sculptor and mixed media artist. Her multifaceted mixed media, collages, abstract paintings and ceramics were exhibited by Torrance Art Museum, American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pacific Design Center, Neutra Institute Museum, TAG Gallery, Art 2 Art Gallery, The Brewery, California Conference for Advancement of Ceramics Arts (CCACA).
Michael Misran lives near Paris, France and is a skilled developer and UX-UI designer. Currently working as a freelancer, he excels in designing visual and interactive elements to create meaningful user experiences. Outside of work, he nurtures his creativity through his passion for drawing and photography.
Dave Young Kim is a fine artist born and raised in Los Angeles. He received a BFA in Studio Art from the University of California, Davis, and an MFA in Studio Art from Mills College, where he worked closely with renowned painter Hung Liu. His work explores the intangible quality of home and themes of nostalgia, war, conflict, and displacement. Kim is a recipient of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Award, Abbey Mural Award, and grants from the California Arts Council and City of Oakland. His work has been exhibited in various places, including the Asian Art Museum, Pacific Asia Museum, Vessel Gallery, Berkeley Art Center, SFAC Main Gallery, Kang Collection, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. In 2020, he co-founded the Korean American Artist Collective (KAAC), a group of artists building community around work rooted in the Korean American experience.
Adrian Cohen was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina and came to Los Angeles when he was 18 years old. He began working as an architect after college and eventually became a partner with Widom Wein Cohen Architects. After many expansions and mergers, he came to work with DLR Group until his retirement in 2019. At DLR Group he was Senior Principal and California Region Leader, and specialized in Educational, Health Care, and Commercial Architecture. DLR Group was the principal architectural group for the Los Angeles Coliseum renovation project. He currently enjoys his retirement by traveling and spending time with his family.
Beatriz Valls was born in Madrid, Spain, and raised in a multicultural environment. She studies Sociology and Art in Madrid and Milan, Italy. She moved to Los Angeles in 2010 to study an MFA in Public Practice at Otis College of Arts and Design.She has since collaborated with different non-profit organizations while teaching at Glendale Community College and The Waverly School in Pasadena.
Clare Hebert is a visual artist working in Los Angeles. Hebert completed an MFA at the California College of Arts, San Francisco and continues to teach, travel and exhibit artwork locally and abroad.