"Purdue Agricultural Communications created a photo gallery documenting the experiences of 25 visiting Mandela Washington Fellows (MWF) hosted by Purdue University in the summer of 2022. The MWF program is a flagship of the Young African Leaders Initiative, and since 2014, Purdue has hosted four years of cohorts from the program through the work of the College of Agriculture’s International Programs in Agriculture. Although Purdue helped host a virtual cohort in 2021, the last time we hosted a group of MWF in person was 2017.
We created the photo gallery and associated story to raise awareness of the fellows’ presence at Purdue and in the Greater Lafayette, Indiana, community over the six weeks the group spends with us. We shared photos from the fellows’ activities, including their visits to Purdue research labs, agribusiness companies, local cultural activities, and volunteer sessions at area nonprofits. We also wanted to represent the cultures these fellows from 16 different countries shared with us. During the portrait session for the gallery, we welcomed fellows to wear clothes or bring items that represented their heritage.
The result was increased publicity for the MWF hosted by the Purdue College of Agriculture, emphasizing the importance of international collaboration in global agriculture and business and celebrating 25 young African leaders visiting our community."
From the Judges
The series is proof that you can get great results in a portrait when you just get out of the way and let your subject be the star. The dynamic subjects really come alive, and the lighting provides fantastic highlights and shadow detail. You can feel the excitement from these fun portraits!
