"I want to take a moment to reflect on how my time abroad has impacted my identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community who also has hearing loss."

"After my time in Rome had concluded, I returned home with a redefined sense of self and a new confidence that hadn’t shown through as brightly before."

The Multicultural Showcase took place on Friday, November 3 as part of the University of Iowa’s annual celebration of International Education Week. Around 300 UI students, faculty, staff, and community members attended.

See the winning images selected for the 2023 International Programs annual photo contest as part of International Education Week (IEW)—which aims to inspire greater awareness of the ways the University of Iowa community can experience international education.

"My time abroad made me realize that I really appreciate my early life experiences of feeling like the other. Because my formative years are marked by feeling different, unfamiliar, or uncomfortable, I learned quickly to not only get used to the unfamiliar, but to welcome and look forward to the unfamiliar."

"The internship was valuable to my professional development because it solidified my understanding of the pre-health field by allowing me to gain practical experience shadowing physicians, networking with professionals and sharpening my skills for a successful career in healthcare."

"Before traveling to Greece, I had heard that it was not as mobility-friendly as America, which made me nervous, but while that was true, I never felt unsafe or like I was unable to do things... The entire experience instead made me so much more confident in what I am capable of accomplishing."

Marlén Mendoza (BA international studies, global health, ‘16) is the associate director of external affairs at the Latino Policy Forum in her hometown of Chicago, Illinois, and founder and CEO of Mendoza Consulting, a community development business based in the Midwest.

"Now, whenever I read Shakespeare, I get a new point of connection. They aren’t stories for other people now; they can be stories for me."

Ethan Snee, communications and linguistics double major, shares insights from his study abroad experience in Italy.

All are welcome to attend the UI 2023 Multicultural Showcase on Friday, November 3, 2023, at 7 p.m. (CDT) in the International Ballroom (2nd floor, Iowa Memorial Union). The Multicultural Showcase is part of Iowa's annual celebration of International Education Week (November 13-17).

"In this strange intersection between all my identities, particularly my indigenous one, in a country with as equally varied perspectives on their own indigenous population, allowed me a glimpse into the difficulties faced in representation all across the Americas."