Alida Ogren-Gunderson ’10

If many Americans were watching the events in Egypt unfold in January and February, Alida Ogren-Gunderson ’10 was watching closer than most, because her husband was among those demonstrating. Ogren-Gunderson left Egypt the day before the demonstrations started, and she plans to return—permanently—in May. She credits Cornell with the trip that changed her life. She spent the last two blocks of her senior year studying Arabic in Egypt and one of the first people she met was Hassan Selim, her Arabic tutor, who would go on to become her husband. During the demonstrations, she worried about Selim’s safety, but she also knew he was doing the right thing. Now she’s anxious and excited to get back to Egypt and work with Selim educating people about politics and democracy. “I never imagined I’d have any sort of personal relationship to a revolution,” she said. If you would like to know more about the projects she and her husband are working on or would like to be involved, you may e-mail her directly at alidabree@gmail.com