Inside Clemson

Volunteers sought for 2016 Freshman Summer Reading Program

One Amazing ThingClemson seeks faculty and staff to serve as facilitators in Clemson’s 2016 Freshman Summer Reading Program. The program, now in its 13th year, brings faculty, staff and the university’s incoming freshman together to interact in meaningful discussions about a selected book.

In this year’s book, “One Amazing Thing,” author Chitra Divakaruni asserts that each one of us has a personal history and story that makes us who we are. Telling one’s own story, and understanding how our cultural histories make each of us who we are, is one of the many themes in this year’s summer reading selection. Divakaruni’s book delivers a tale that preoccupies your thoughts and, in the end, it is a story that challenges us to consider what it means to be human and a part of a family. In the age of social media, global knowledge economies, and cultural reformation– such tales demand our lifelong attention.

On Monday, August 15, Divakaruni will address Clemson’s incoming freshman class, along with faculty and staff facilitators. Immediately following her talk, students will break into small groups to discuss the book. The event will be stronger with   faculty and staff participation as facilitators of these discussion groups. Organizers are making enhancements to the Summer Reading program and strong participation will make this endeavor successful. Learn more about the book and the Summer Reading program on the Summer Reading website.

Click here to volunteer.

Divakaruni is an award-winning and bestselling author, poet, activist and teacher of writing. Her work has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies, including The Best American Short Stories, the O. Henry Prize Stories and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Her books have been translated into 29 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew, Bengali, Russian and Japanese, and many of them have been used for campus-wide and city-wide reads. Several of her works have been made into films and plays.