News – Global Expressions

04/28/2025

Winners of the 2025 Writing Contest!

To honor the diverse voices of multilingual writers at Lafayette College, the third annual Global Expressions: Writing Beyond the Mother Tongue Magazine Writing Contest was held this semester. The contest provided students with a unique opportunity to showcase their writing in multiple languages and share their perspectives on different cultures, identities, and study abroad experiences. Please join us in congratulating the winners of this year’s contest:

Urvi Thakker ’26: First place (tie), “From Bandra to Diaspora“
Dongjoon Yoon ’26: First place (tie): “From Individualism to Community in the U.S.“
Bohan Chang ’28: Third place: “Nostalgia on a Plate: When Home Tastes Like a Stereotype“

02/03/2025

2025 Writing Contest

Global Expressions: Writing Beyond the Mother Tongue is holding its third annual writing contest in Spring 2025. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis, with a final deadline of April 3, 2025.

Here are the submission requirements:

The submission should be written in English and translated into another foreign language.
The total length of the paper including both languages should be no longer than 4 pages, single-spaced, 12 font size.
The submitted article should be your original work.
Topics should be one of the three options:
- Discuss one perception that you had of the U.S. or any study-abroad country and how that perception changed once immersed in that culture
- Describe a memorable cultural exchange experience you‘ve had with someone from a different country. What did you learn from each other?
- What similarities or differences did you notice between the educational system in your home country compared to your study-abroad country? What did you learn from your experience in a new educational environment?
Please use the magazine’s submission form to submit your paper. The submission deadline is April 3rd.

Judges will review all the submitted articles in early April using this rubric. The first, second, and third places will be announced in mid-April.

Here are the judges for this year’s writing contest:

Janine Block, Assistant Director of Intercultural Development
Dr. Tim H. Cox, Dean of Advising & Co-Curricular Programs
Dr. Julia Goldberg, Associate Dean of Advising & Co-Curricular Programs, Fellowships Advisor
Emma Hetrick, Coordinator of the College Writing Program
Dr. Nicole Hurd, President of Lafayette College
Dr. Ernest Jeffries, Vice President for Inclusion
Dr. Tingting Kang, Director of English for Academic Purposes Center
Dr. Han Luo, Associate Professor in the Department of Languages & Literary Studies
Sarah Ye, Administrative Coordinator of the Office of International & Off-Campus Education

You can contact Dr. Tingting Kang at kangt@lafayette.edu for any questions.

05/01/2024

Winners of the 2024 Writing Contest!

To honor the diverse voices of multilingual writers at Lafayette College, the Global Expressions: Writing Beyond the Mother Tongue Magazine Writing Contest was held this semester, providing students with an opportunity to showcase their writings in multiple languages and share their perspectives on different cultures and study abroad experiences. Join us in congratulating the winners of this year’s writing contest:

First place: “From the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic – A Journey of Education and Self-Discovery” by Areeb Atheeque ’25
Second place: “Gonpura To Easton” by Prem Kumar ’26
Third place: “The Discussion of the Respect and Interaction in Chinese and American Educational Systems” by Anyu Huang ’25

Click here to read all the articles submitted to the 2024 writing contest.

02/05/2024

2024 Writing Contest

The Global Expressions: Writing beyond Mother Tongue is holding a writing contest this year. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis with a final deadline on April 2nd, 2024.

Here are the submission requirements:

The submission should be written in English and translated into another foreign language.
The total length of the paper including both languages should be no longer than 4 pages, single-spaced, 12 font size.
The submitted article should be your original work.
Topics should be one of the three options:
- Discuss one perception that you had of the U.S. or any study-abroad country and how that perception changed once immersed in that culture
- Describe a memorable cultural exchange experience you‘ve had with someone from a different country. What did you learn from each other?
- What similarities or differences did you notice between the educational system in your home country compared to your study-abroad country? What did you learn from your experience in a new educational environment?
Please use the magazine’s submission form to submit your paper. The submission deadline is April 2nd.

Judges will review all the submitted articles in early April using this rubric. The first, second, and third places will be announced in mid-April.

Here are the judges for this year’s writing contest:

Janine Block, Assistant Director of Intercultural Development
Dr. Tim H. Cox, Dean of Advising & Co-Curricular Programs
Dr. Julia Goldberg, Associate Dean of Advising & Co-Curricular Programs, Fellowships Advisor
Emma Hetrick, Coordinator of the College Writing Program
Dr. Nicole Hurd, President of Lafayette College
Dr. Ernest Jeffries, Vice President for Inclusion
Dr. Tingting Kang, Director of English for Academic Purposes Center
Rochelle Keesler, Director of Office of International & Off-Campus Education
Dr. Han Luo, Associate Professor in the Department of Languages & Literary Studies

You can contact Dr. Tingting Kang at kangt@lafayette.edu for any questions.

04/20/2023

Winners of the 2023 Writing Contest!

First place: “A Pakistani Student’s Voyage” by Ali Sultan Sikandar ’23
Second place: “Culture Shock of a Malagasy Student Studying Abroad for the First Time” by Landy Rakotoarison ’26
Third place:
- “From the ‘Peach Garden’ to the ‘Garden of Eden'” by Yi Luo ’26 and Liangyu Pang ’26
- “My Evolving Perception of American Culture” by Qinwen Deng ’26
- “Some Observations of American Society: Things that are Different from My Previous Perceptions” by Julin Kang ’26

Click here to read all the articles submitted to the 2023 writing contest.

02/10/2023

2023 Writing Contest

To provide more notoriety and increase the number of contributors, we are holding a writing contest during March and April. The following are the submission requirements:

The submission should be written in English and translated into another foreign language.
The total length of the paper including both languages should be no longer than 4 pages, single-spaced, 12 font size.
The submitted article should be your original work.
Topics should be one of the three options:
- Discuss one perception that you had of the U.S. or any study-abroad country and how that perception changed once immersed in that culture
- Discuss one cultural aspect from your home country that is misunderstood by people outside your country
- Discuss how did you contribute to the educational and social community when you studied abroad
Please use the magazine’s submission form to submit your paper. The submission deadline is April 2nd.

Judges will review all the submitted articles in early April using this rubric. The first, second, and third places will be announced in mid-April.

Here are the judges for this writing contest:

Janine Block, Assistant Director of Intercultural Development
Dr. Tim H. Cox, Dean of Advising & Co-Curricular Programs
Emma Hetrick, Coordinator of the College Writing Program
Dr. Nicole Hurd, President of Lafayette College
Dr. Tingting Kang, Director of English for Academic Purposes Center
Rochelle Keesler, Director of Office of International & Off-Campus Education
Dr. Han Luo, Associate Professor in the Department of Languages & Literary Studies

You can contact Dr. Tingting Kang at kangt@lafayette.edu or Armaghan Ejaz at ejaza@lafayette.edu for any questions.