Erika Balk ’16 studied in Luther’s Malta Program in spring 2015. She shot this photo in Santorini, Greece, during spring break. “The white buildings clashed against the bright blue sky and were like unlike anything I'd ever seen before,” she says. “It was so fun to walk the canals through all these buildings and watch the community there interact.”
Johanna Beaupre ’18 traveled to Cuba during J-term 2016 with the course Language and Culture in the Spanish-Speaking World. She says: “I took this photo one afternoon on our way home to our casas particulares (host homes). It had rained much of the trip, and this hint of sunshine after the rain was the start to our beautiful final weekend in Cuba. I like this photo because it shows a typical Havana neighborhood with its criss-crossing wires and diverse architecture, along with the classic old car that everyone expects of Cuba.”
Andrew Braun ’18 took the course Language and Culture in the Spanish-Speaking World during J-term 2016. “On a relaxing Sunday afternoon, we had the opportunity to go horseback riding in the beautiful farming region just outside of Salamanca,” he says. “As our guides helped us get saddled up, the afternoon sun made things seem almost majestic.”
Emily Holm ’17 studied in Norway during summer 2015 as a participant in the Peace Scholars program. Holm’s group stopped only briefly at this small Norwegian town, but she says this photo became one of her favorite shots from the summer.
Erin Ellefsen ’17 got this shot while with the course Art and Cultural Perspectives: European Art History, Gothic, Renaissance, and the New Media Art, traveling in Italy and France during January Term 2016. Pictured is course instructor Richard Merritt, Luther professor of art, in the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris. Ellefsen says: “I took this photo because Monet’s Water Lilies is such a famous work that we got the privilege of seeing in person. It was an exciting moment for our whole trip.”
Aaron Fargo ’16 was part of the J-term 2016 Paideia 450 class Stability and Change in Vietnam. He shot this photo when the class was in the Mekong Delta and paddled in some of the traditional boats that traverse the delta’s canals.
Ryan Goos ’16 spent spring 2015 with the Spanish Studies Abroad program in Córdoba, Argentina. He got this shot during a trip that he took with friends to Los Glaciares National Park in El Chaltén, Argentina, in the Patagonia region. They traveled in the park for a week, doing day hikes to the bases of various mountains.
Kennedy Helberg ’18 was a part of the crew for the class Tales of the Sea on the windjammer Roseway during January Term 2016 in the Virgin Islands. While swimming, she took this photo of the Roseway in the distance.
Laura Johnson ’17 studied in Cape Town, South Africa, in fall 2015 with a Marquette University service-learning trip and took this photo at a walk to celebrate Women’s Day in South Africa. She says: “The NGO that I worked for, the South African Faith and Family Institute (SAFFI), played a major role in organizing the event. Over 8,000 people participated on this walk through downtown Cape Town in solidarity and in support of women all over the world. It was truly a surreal experience, walking hand in hand with women of all backgrounds and colors and beliefs. It was beautiful. My friends are holding the SAFFI banner on the far left, and the mountain in the back is called Devil’s Peak.”
Jacy Mahoney ’16 spent spring 2015 with the ISA (International Studies Abroad) Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic program. She took this photo at a park in the heart of Prague, where locals enjoy spending time and taking in the view of Prague Castle.
McKenna Campbell-Potter ’16 was part of the January Term 2016 class Environmental Implications of Eco-Adventure Growth in Central America. While in Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Ambergris Caye, Belize, she shot this underwater photo of a green sea turtle in a bed of sea grass.
Megan Oliver ’19 spent J-term 2016 in New Mexico with the Education 185 class doing observation in area schools. While exploring Red Rock Park in Church Rock, N.M., she says, “Some of us were very intrigued by this little narrow passageway between these huge red rocks.”
Olivia Heitz ’16 participated in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest’s London and Florence: Arts in Context program in spring 2015. She was in Venice during the Carnevale and shot this photo of a participant. “This woman’s enthusiasm and joy for the Venice Carnevale is unmistakable. The colorful flowers surrounding her perfectly emulate the sense of wonder and happiness that fills the streets (and canals) in Venice,” Heitz says.
Vicky Torillas ’17 was on Luther’s yearlong Nottingham Program in 2015–16 and shot this photo at the University of Nottingham. Writing from England, she says, “I took this picture because the weather here is completely different than in Decorah. Fog is something that’s interesting to me, and I felt that this picture symbolized my experience here in Nottingham, first being a bit lost and confused but then comes clarity.”
Tricia Serres ’16 traveled to Hawaii in May and June of 2015 with the course Practicing Embodiment. “We lived, learned, and worked on an eco-organic farm, Hale Akua Garden Farm,” Serres says. “All of the vegetables were organically grown, and organic, free range chickens supplied them with eggs. We helped work on the farm, planting, harvesting, and making compost.” Here, students create compost piles.
Abbey Syme ’16 studied in Norway during fall 2015 through a program sponsored by Volda University College. Here, two of Syme’s classmates, from England and Luxembourg, take a last deep breath of Norway’s sea air at the end of the semester.
Aubree Tsurusaki ’17 spent January Term 2016 volunteering in Kathmandu, Nepal, with an organization called Projects Abroad. She participated in an independent study through Luther’s Education Department and taught English to a first-grade class in Nepal. She also helped rebuild a school that was damaged in the spring 2015 earthquakes, and spent a week working in a home for children living with HIV/AIDS. Tsurusaki shot this photo after a sunrise hike in Pokhara, Nepal. “Nepal's air is pretty polluted, so it's a rare occurrence to see the Himalayas amid all the smog/fog during this time of the year!” she says.
Ivy Truong ’16 studied in Norway in spring 2015 through the University Studies Abroad Consortium. She is shown here at Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen) in a photo taken by Australian classmate Gloria Liang. Truong says: “This breathtaking scenic point is 604 meters above the Lysefjord, and it took my friend and me about two hours of hiking to reach the place. It was really refreshing to be there and feel the closeness to nature, one of the Norwegian characteristics I learned of during my time there.”
Olivia Heitz ’16 participated in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest’s London and Florence: Arts in Context program in spring 2015. Traveling in Germany, she took this photo at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Oranienburg, 22 miles north of Berlin. She says: “As I was facing the sunken doors of the gas chambers, I caught a glimpse of a ghostlike figure peering back at me. Soon after I jumped backward with a racing heart, I realized it was my own reflection in the dusty windows. The eerie sensation never left me as I finished walking the grounds of the camp.”