We are pleased to have Melanie Vazquez Lopez '22 and Mariana Gil '26 join us on the Merle-Smith and Downtown Campus, respectively. 

They are visiting us from Guatemala through an exchange program organized by Faces & Our Cultures, a Guatemala-based group that believes "a cultural exchange is an experience of integral growth."

Melanie and Mariana are staying with families within our community while attending school. Diana Lopez '22 and family are hosting Melanie, while Profe Gonzalo del Real, his daughter Arwen del Real Sobiech '26, and family are hosting Mariana. The students will return home on December 9, 2021. 

"I'm happy to be here and excited to meet new people," says Melanie.

In the summer, there is an opportunity for American host students to spend several weeks in Guatemala as part of the exchange. It has not yet been determined whether this year's students will travel abroad. 

The partnership between Moravian Academy and the Faces & Our Cultures program has been on hiatus for the past several years due to the pandemic. We are pleased to bring the program back with the goal of growing it while creating additional opportunities for cross-cultural immersion and travel experiences in the future.