Radio show host Frank Pastore had journalism students Lydia Ness and Job Ang on air to discuss their newly published book The Dominican Dream: A Passion for Baseball, a Love For Family, and a Hope for the Future, a book that visually and verbally recounts the story of everyday Dominicans striving for a better future.

“[Dominicans] are such a passionate and colorful group of people,” said Ness. “I have never seen so many kids so passionate about wanting to change their country.”

The two students represented their team of 13 journalism students who worked a total of four months to produce and publish the book. The majority of their material was gathered during spring break when they embarked on a weeklong trip to the Dominican Republic with journalism professors Tamara Welter and Sharon Fain.

Their time in the Dominican Republic was spent talking to a whole spectrum of Dominicans: from little league hopefuls to former major league ballplayers, high-achieving students to high school dropouts, churchgoing Christians to partiers and prostitutes. What they collected from their time in the Dominican Republic was a new perspective on the country and its people.

“People just hear about the Dominican Republic as a baseball farm but it’s more than that. A lot of people there kept saying, ‘We want our stories to be heard. We are more than baseball,’” said Ang. “If our book can play a small role in bringing that forward...I’m all for it.”   

Listen to Frank Pastore talk with Lydia Ness and Job Ang about The Dominican Dream: A Passion for Baseball, a Love For Family, and a Hope for the Future. To order a copy of the book, contact Journalism Department Secretary Lily Park at lily.park@biola.edu.

Written by Elizabeth Mak, Media Relations Intern. For more information, please contact Jenna Bartlo, Media Relations Coordinator, at jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu or via phone at 562.777.4061.