When Valentine's Day was on the horizon, we asked our students to take the idea of "love" in an exciting new direction with a fun photo contest: "What do you love about your HOST state?"
All we asked was for a photo that best summed up what they love most about their host state, and a brief caption.
So sit back, relax, and scroll through the most-loved parts of our United States, as seen through the eyes of this year's ICES exchange students.
Congratulations to our grand prize winner, who will receive a $200 Visa gift card, and our runners-up, each of whom will receive a $100 Visa gift card.
Grand Prize Winner
Adriano Jugl from Germany, living in Alabama
"Sweet Home Alabama, that's exactly how it feels to me, like home. What I love the most about Alabama is college football (SEC) and my favorite football team is the Auburn Tigers. But I also love that this state actually feels like a second home because of the nice host family and friends, which I got here."
Runners Up
Ellyn Wales from Czech Republic, living in Virginia
"I love Virginia's beautiful nature the most!"
Christopher Elias Gotowos from Germany, living in Montana
Sara Martini from Italy, living in California
"My favorites thing about this state are the people (everyone is super nice and they not judged you) and the ocean, which gives a feeling of freedom."
Honorable Mentions
So many of our students did a wonderful job showing how our states have captured their hearts. Enjoy the show as we share some of our Honorable Mention photos!
Lenja Seipel from Germany, living in Nevada
"I love Las Vegas/ Nevada because of its diversity. On one hand you have the glamorous and crazy entertainment offer on the Las Vegas Strip but also not far away a whole different world with beautiful and calm national parks with stunning nature like Red Rock or Mount Charleston."
Camilla Cariello from Italy, living in Michigan
"What I love the most about my host state is the snow. I live in Rome, Italy, so the snow is nowhere to be seen. But here in Caledonia, Michigan it snows a lot and it makes really happy to be able see it and have fun playing with it. For me, someone who can barely see it, it's magical and unforgettable."
Hannah Mehl from Germany, living in Alabama
"I'm living in Athens, Alabama right now with the best host family I could imagine. What I love most about my host state are my 3 host sisters Emily Frances, Maggie and Willa Claire. On the picture you can see us on christmas eve eve after we got our matching personalized pyjamas. I'm the one on the left, Maggie is in the middle, Emily Frances on the right and Willa is the little one. These 3 girls already feel like real sisters ro me and I love them more like everything. They're my family!"
Nicole Donato from Italy, living in Michigan
Zoe Billard from France, living in California
Veronica D’Alessandro from Italy, living in California
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"For this contest, I chose this picture because one of my favorite memories is when I went to the football games with my friends. Almost every Friday I was in the entourage ready to cheer for my school’s football team. This was one of my first game, I remember how excited I was! Every game had a specific “dress code”. That night we were all dressed in white. After the football game, almost all the school went to In-n-out burger. This, will always be one of my favorite memories. It was so American for me!"
Lilou from France, living in Arizona
Nitchapat Rattanaprateepakorn from Thailand living in Oklahoma
"I love Oklahoma because it is the land of Cowboys!"
Lots of love, in every state!
We had so many wonderful entries that we just ran out of space to fit them all in! Here are a few more of the great photos that show how our students have fallen in love with their host states!
Thank you to all of the students that participated in our exciting and fun "What do you love about your HOST state?" Valentine's Day photo contest. It's obvious that this year's exchange students love their host states, and for a wide variety of reasons. Happy Valentine's Day, and remember to share your love of cultural exchange today!
And remember, the best way to share that love is to decide now to host an exchange student. Then all the wonderful things about your state could capture the heart of a student from around the world. ICES is ready to help you find a student today!
