Kelsey’s Testimony:

“My experience in Mexico affirmed that hands-on, reality-based learning is key to any undergraduate career, and the earlier this takes place, the better. Applied learning not only is a necessary means of complementing classroom study, but can also be a defining moment in one’s life direction, in both a personal and academic sense. I studied the inner-workings of a women-run cooperative tortillería, working side-by-side with the women and conducting more formal interviews. Most meaningful was the way in which the women accepted, and fully embraced my presence, and that of the rest of the group. Being what I considered a cultural invader, and especially as an American, I expected to be met with some suspicion and resistance, but the opposite was the case. In order to celebrate our last day, the women of the tortillería arranged their special Mothers’ Day event, a once-a-year unparalleled bash, to coincide with our departure. We viewed this as a major sacrifice, while this appeared to them a natural response. Being in the presence of these women revealed them as more vibrant and dynamic than any character sketches or case studies I might have read about in a book. By solely remaining entrenched in our books, we risk being “armchair” social scientists, disconnected from and uninformed about the people and cultures that we purport to know.”