Recently in Photo Contest Category
Competing Forces, Creative Tensions
I took this picture during one of my excursions to Cumberland Cemetery. To me, this represents the Competing Forces, Creative Tensions honors theme because it shows two different ways of remembering the loved ones that have passed away. We have the normal way, creating a tombstone and putting their name on it. However, you also have the colorful toys in front of it. By using this unusual decoration the person who put it there is remembering the people as an individuals not as one more name on a tombstone.
- Paola Pedraza-Rivera
Radiance of Global Harmony
This picture of a mural that was seen during the fall honors trip is a symbol of some of the aspects of the honor's mission, building global awareness, leadership, and civic engagement. The thing that caught my eye the most in this picture was the unity seen with the children. All of them are of different backgrounds, ethnic groups, and religions, but they stand together as one. This signifies so much that our society tends to overlook, the need for all of us to coexist. When one is a child they don't always see the differences that adults focus on, color, ethnicity, religion, or economic status. Children just see children, others like them. The image of the Earth fits well with the overall meaning, assisting the theme of global awareness and that this trait displayed by children is a model for us all. And with this mural being a part of an effort to build up the community, it is an act of civic engagement. The upcoming generations truly are the future and the leaders that can inspire this change.
- Teron Meyers
Birth of Spring
I think this photo fits perfectly with the theme of Changes in Climate this year. The tree that I captured is one of the early signs of the birth of a new season, spring. Climate change is something that affects us throughout the year, and our current struggle is to try and preserve what we currently have on this Earth. That includes this tree here and the beautiful environment it grows in. Also, this was the last picture that I took before leaving D.C. I thought that it symbolized this trip as well too. While in Washington, we were representing Penn State Brandywine, thus we sought to stand out and shine as the brilliant students we are. Similarly, this tree stood out to me among others. That is the goal we strive for, academic integrity with excellence.
- Teron Meyers
The honors field trip in Fall 2007 traveled to the Solar Decathlon in Washington DC. Congratulations to freshman Ethan Freeman for his winning entry!
Sunlit Washington Monument
As the sun shines on an unusually hot, mid-October day, the Washington Monument stands proudly overlooking the events of the Solar Decathlon, a testament of potential efficiency and functionality. The monument itself stands for the exact opposite; it testifies to the inefficiency of humans, taking nearly forty years to build, it can only dream of having the efficiency of these solar houses.
- Ethan Freeman
The honors field trip in Spring 2007 traveled to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City. Congratulations to freshman Peter Spizzirri for his winning entry!
A Pieced World
The world is a great book of which they who never stir from home read only a page. -Augustine
We, as honors students, strive to go beyond our limitations and beyond our boundaries. We explore the known world with awe and skepticism, creating new pages of information everyday. As we live, we piece those pages together to create a whole picture or whole book of what the world represents to us.
The photo is of a mosaic from the Metropolitan Museum of Art depicting a natural scene. The artist pieced together the little pieces of his vision to form one big image of the scene. This correlates with the message of the honors program because as honor students we not only learn new information about our world, but we strive to put it into context of the "bigger picture". We start out with the knowledge of just a pond and a few swans. But, as we step out into the world and explore past the pond, we find new paths that take us further into the world and expand our picture. Not only do we see the new bushes and trees, but we place them within our picture, within our frame reference, to create an image of the world that encompasses and interlocks all of our knowledge.
-Peter Spizzirri
The honors field trip in Fall 2006 traveled to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty in connection with the honors theme for the year. Congratulations to freshman Ryan Parks for his winning entry!
Like birds, they flock together,
Coming from their homeland seeking shelter.
They come from the cold winter of poverty,
Migrating to the warmth of the American dream.
While the journey may be long,
Their hope lies in liberty,
In freedom from oppression,
From famine, from restrictions, from death.
They seek new life,
In this majestic land.
And with the brilliant torch lighting their way,
Surely they will find it.
-Ryan Parks
In conjunction with each of our field trips, the Honors Program encourages students to bring along their cameras. The photographs are not just to document the sites we visit for academic purposes but for the students to be creative in the ways they view the world. Students are encouraged to submit a photo after each trip, along with a description as to how the photo connects with the annual honors theme or the mission of the honors program. All past entries have been truly outstanding, but here we present the ones that have risen to the top and been awarded the photography contest winners!
