Imagining the World

I studied the French language in different francophone speaking countries, and I found my camera to be another tool of communication. Learning a new language in a foreign country is challenging to say the least, but my photography was a way to tell stories where words failed to express. The headshot I have submitted was taken by my host sister (using my camera), Fatima age 6; she truly loved taking photos of absolutely everything.

My experience in the Kingdom of Bhutan was unlike any other I have encountered. It was a privilege to explore what many believe to be the last Shangri-La and immerse myself into such a unique cultural heritage.

Sāmoa touched me in ways that I cannot describe in such few words. This country is filled to the brim with people that are full of live and resilience, and the children are especially curious little rays of sunshine that reminded me of what it is like to be a kid again. These photos are just a glimpse of what life is like in Sāmoa, and they are a piece of my love letter to this beautiful country.

For me taking photographs is a way of reflecting over my thoughts and perception of the world that resides inside me. The photos that I am submitting are from a road trip of the Southwest that I took in 2023 summers. These photos try to depict how I absorbed the nature with my comprehensions.

I came to Seattle in September 2023 to begin living abroad for the first time in my life. With a mixture of anticipation and anxiety, I am excited about life in America and am now, and will continue to be, expanding my possibilities more and more. Now that I have been in Seattle for four months, I am on a journey to find the meaning of “living in America” through travelling to various places.

On the plane to Seattle, I was crying. Without my family, without my friends. I was alone. The shadow of myself standing on my own feet in the sunset cheered me up. Four months later, I finally know I am not alone now. Sunsets over the sea remind me of my family and friends across the ocean. I can’t see them but they are there. And I have sweet and kind friends who see the sunsets with me. Thanks to their help, I am able to be standing on my feet now in Seattle. And, I am not alone. This is my experience.

The photo I am submitting is from Holy Week 2022 in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. This was the first time after COVID that the Holy Week processions had resumed and was very special for all involved. I was in Guatemala at the time carrying out research about women’s activism to end gender-violence in the post civil war period. The civil war went from 1960-1996 and 200,000 died, 83% of who were Indigenous Maya.

All of these photographs were taken in Spain, where I attended the International Association of Jesuit Business Schools conference, July 2023. The conference was hosted by Loyola University Andalusia, which has campuses in Seville and Cordóba. The complex historical connections between the different religious communities-periods of peaceful coexistence and also conquest/request — were visible in the cities and the buildings. It was a perfect setting for a conference focused on the future of Jesuit business education in a pluralistic world.