51热门黑料 photo alum wins military exchange鈥檚 grand prize in contest
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 6, 2014) - A video created as a class project by Lola Gomez,
a graduate of Daytona State鈥檚 School of Photography, has been awarded the $10,000
grand prize in the Army and Air Force Exchange Service鈥檚 Homeward Bound photo and
video contest.
Gomez gave the video, titled 鈥淢y Heart Back Home,鈥� to her sister, Laura Jimenez, as
a gift, who in turn entered it into the contest as one of 672 submissions. Her winning
entry will be used as part of the Exchange鈥檚 yearlong advertising campaign.
鈥淟ola is a talented and highly motivated photographer who is taking advantage of both
the aesthetic and technical skills she learned while enrolled in our program at Daytona
State,鈥� said School of Photography Chair Dan Biferie. 鈥淲e are proud of all she has
accomplished and are confident she will join a growing list of our program graduates
who have gone on to receive critical acclaim and success in their careers.鈥�
Using a series of black-and-white photos and videos, the multimedia piece captures
a life that is typical of so many military families, focusing on Jimenez and her son,
Leonardo, born less than a month before his father, Sgt. 1st class Jesus Jimenez,
deployed for a yearlong tour in Afghanistan. Images of the couple鈥檚 wedding day, their
life together, and mother and son鈥檚 daily life with father overseas culminate with
an emotional welcome home upon his return.
鈥淢y Heart Back Home鈥� also earned a silver award in the Domestic Picture Story category
in last year鈥檚 68th College Photographer of the Year competition, sponsored by the
University of Missouri and Nikon, where more than 600 student photographers representing
130 colleges and universities throughout the world participated.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Gomez, 37, earned her Associate of Science in Photographic
Technology from Daytona State in May 2013. She also holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business
administration from Universidad Santa Maria in Caracas. Her work has been exhibited
in the college鈥檚 Southeast Museum of Photography, and she is a freelance photographer
for several Central Florida newspapers, including the Orlando Sentinel.
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