Mary Ellen Cagnassola

Twitter: @baconmonalisa Hometown: Fanwood, N.J. Professor: Regina Marchi Class: Media and Struggles for Democracy Takeaway: No amount of reading about or studying Guatemala in class could have prepared me for this life-changing experience. For me, the essence of this journey was not how much material wealth North Americans have compared to Guatemalans, but the intangible things Guatemalans possess that the industrialized world lacks. Tradition, community and an impermeable sense of optimism are the mainstays of Guatemalan culture, and those who uphold it have a kind of spiritual wealth I very much admire.