Dear Editor, My name is Ashleigh Ewald. I am a 23-year-old first-year Master of Science in Public Policy student at Georgia Tech. As a student, Just Mercy was the first adaptation that made me appreciate literature on a deeper level. I read Bryan Stevenson's book after watching the film, and the movie pulled me in emotionally in a way that made me want to understand every detail the book could offer. The scene that stood out to me the most was Walter McMillian's execution-stay moment because of being able to see the injustice that has happened to the characters in the movie who represent real stories. Seeing it on screen made me realize how much power is held in the multiple stories that Bryan Stevenson uses in his book to demonstrate the grave amount of injustice that vulnerable communities face. Many would see these stories of criminal justice through a black and white lens, when in reality, there are so many things that cause and lead to broken systems shaping individuals' lives. When I went back to the text, I found myself underlining and highlighting passages about systemic failures, compassion, and second chances. The film began the conversation and opened the door, but the book gave me the full emotional and moral vocabulary to understand it. That experience made me appreciate literature as a tool for both empathy and policy thinking. I hope this helps your story, and thank you for uplifting student voices! Please feel free to reach out if you need anything else. Best, Ashleigh Ewald
I wasn't a big reader in school, but the old Gatsby movie pulled me in way harder than I expected. The party scenes felt chaotic in a way the text didn't hit me with at first, so I went back to the book just to understand why that world felt so heavy under all the shine. One assignment asked us to break down the green light, and that flipped something for me because I finally cared enough to dig into it. Later in life, when I built SourcingXpro in Shenzhen, that same habit helped me chase small details that ended up saving clients a few thousand on orders. Funny how a film can nudge you into paying real attention.