Being a Global Citizen: 2
Published October 13, 2023
Every year, faculty, students, and alumni from UWyo travel around the world, engaging with communities and making new friends. How we approach being a global citizen as we travel? What exactly is our role in the wider world? How do we learn and grow in that role?
Here are five more perspectives from the runner-ups of the 2022 Global Engagement Photo Contest:
Be Present by Scott Tedman-Jones
It is easy to see a place and move on to the next item on the itinerary, but these experiences can be fleeting and not register on the subconscious. One of my goals being overseas this summer as part of the UW in Scotland cohort was to take the time to be fully present in the places that I visited.
To support this goal I took many, many pictures during my 18-day trip. Many of the photos were of small details of what I called “textures” on my social media posts documenting my travels. These textures were moments that captured an essence of a location or an ephemeral feeling that I may have missed if I hadn’t been looking.
In this photo of a sculpture in the gardens at Abbotsford, I was only able to see it because I stopped and turned around to look at the sculpture from another angle. This sums up my experience of being abroad. Take the time to be present, to “see” from multiple perspectives. You don’t know what you might bring home with you. The photos I took all have deeper meaning to me because I was fully present when taking them.
Fishing on the Tahuayo by Vanta E. Coda III
My volunteer experience abroad was impactful due to all the people we met while we were there.
Meeting with indigenous Amazonian and looking into their day-to-day life was truly amazing. During the visit I learned how precious a community is and how it is interconnected. Everyone knew everyone up and down the tributary forming a bond that is very rare nowadays.
I don't think my global understanding was altered per-se, but it was enhanced. Building a school for the primary students will stick with me for the rest of my life. It not only showed me and the BTCV team that there are places like this, but that they are so closely knit together that one might mistake the village to be a family.
-Vanta E. Coda III
Camel Trek in the Sahara Desert by Maeve Knepper
This picture was taken of myself and several other exchange students on a camel trek through the sand dunes of the Sahara Desert near Merzouga, Morocco.
That night, we had trekked into a camp in the desert run by Amazigh Moroccans. Some Imazighen, indigenous to North Africa, live in the southern part of the country near the dunes and lead tours for those interested in experiencing the Sahara Desert. That night, we learned all about the Amazigh people and culture including words in the Amazigh language, music, and dance.
This experience gave me a more complex understanding of Morocco and the Moroccan people. It is very easy to think of people from a given country as a monolith. Spending time with Imazighen, who have a cultural identity distinct from Arab Moroccans, forced me to think about Morocco with more nuance. As an American, I would never think that all Americans are the same.
This experience encouraged me to think about the many identities that shape other places as well, and it shaped me into a better global citizen.
-Maeve Knepper
White by Alirza Orujov
One of the most important questions we ask when to move a new place is “what the climate looks like?”
For me, the most important one was “are there mountains” and Wyoming was perfect in satisfying that. However, I was just a little bit afraid of extreme cold, which might prevent me from enjoying outdoor activities. I heard it can get so cold that you cannot leave your home for several weeks, but I was brave enough to experience by myself.
So, I did it and I would say I liked it very much! I started snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and doing wildlife photography during these white, cold days. This let me stay not only physically but also mentally active.
Wyoming is the coldest place I lived so far, and I do believe is same for most of the international students. Therefore, I give a friendly recommendation to all to find an outdoor activity in the snow!
-Alirza Orujov
Sport Time by Azizullah Saleem
One of the most important questions we ask when to move a new place is “what the climate looks like?”
For me, the most important one was “are there mountains” and Wyoming was perfect in satisfying that. However, I was just a little bit afraid of extreme cold, which might prevent me from enjoying outdoor activities. I heard it can get so cold that you cannot leave your home for several weeks, but I was brave enough to experience by myself.
So, I did it and I would say I liked it very much! I started snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and doing wildlife photography during these white, cold days. This let me stay not only physically but also mentally active.
Wyoming is the coldest place I lived so far, and I do believe is same for most of the international students. Therefore, I give a friendly recommendation to all to find an outdoor activity in the snow!
-Alirza Orujov
