Study Abroad Contest Winners

Academic Year 2025–26

Congratulations to the winners of the 2025–26 Study Abroad Photo, Video, and Writing Contests! And to all 127 students who participated in at least one of the three contests, our sincere thanks for sharing your experiences.

We will be posting the four winning pieces from the Writing Contest next. Stay tuned!

Photo Contest

See all of the winning photos from our 2025–26 contest in the Flickr album.

First Prize: “A stroll through the Fatih fabric market in Istanbul” by Bella Eng, Class of 2028 (Istanbul: Middle Eastern Civilizations)
Second Prize: “An exchange student pauses at a rural intersection in Minami-komatsu, Shiga Prefecture after a visit to Lake Biwa” by Brayden Miller, Class of 2028 (Foreign Language Acquisition Grant (FLAG): Japan)
Third Prize: “The reflection of a bus in a traffic mirror. London, United Kingdom” by Nathaniel Rodwell-Simon, Class of 2027 (Direct Enrollment at King’s College London)
Best Portfolio: Set of four images by Joe Zhang, Class of 2026 (Paris: European Civilization)
An additional 20 photos received Honorable Mentions or YOUChicago Abroad Prizes

Learn more about the photo contest

Video Contest

Watch the prize-winning videos from our 2025–26 Study Abroad in 60 Seconds Contest.

First Prize:
“A Typical Afternoon in Paris” by Ciara Kinney and Lena Tran, both in the Class of 2027 (Paris: Psychology)
Second Prize:
“What I Expected” by Harlie Grenead, Class of 2027 (Seoul: Yonsei University Exchange Program)
Third Prize:
“‘Little Bliss’: Moments in China” by Zeran Fei, Class of 2026 (Beijing: East Asia, Then and Now)
Honorable Mention:
“Between Skyscrapers and Temples” by Erika Lenhardt, Class of 2027 (Hong Kong: Economics)

Learn more about the video contest