Author Jeff Goins strolled through The Theresa and Edward O鈥橳oole Library. He read through the bios and excerpts from students鈥 personal essays; taking as much of an interest in them as they recently took in him. The essays were all personal narratives inspired by his book, The Art of Work, which was the Common Reading Program choice for this year鈥檚 incoming freshmen.
Goins was on campus to deliver the keynote speech as part of the Common Reading Program.
鈥淭he Common Reading Program is an intellectual experience designed to bring the freshmen class together through shared readings and discussions centered around a common theme,鈥 said Constance Wagner, writing program director.
The Art of Work was chosen as the Common Reading Program because the book encourages readers to seek and act upon passions that give their lives meaning, a topic appropriate for college-age readership. During his keynote presentation, Goins highlighted tips from his book, including 鈥淲ho you are is practice for who you are going to be.鈥 He shared with the students his three 鈥渟ecrets鈥 for living a purposeful life:
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 plan your purpose, you can鈥檛 control your outcome and you can鈥檛 wait for clarity,鈥 he said.
As part of the program, students had been encouraged by professors in the English department to write personal essays based on the book and submit them to the Common Reading Program essay contest. Winning essays and author bios were on display in the library and students read from their pieces at a recent symposium.
鈥淥ne of the main joys of judging聽the essay contest is finding聽student聽work that draws on so聽many聽different approaches to the same material found in a common text. This year’s pieces featured work that ranged from literary non-fiction to straightforward聽biography聽to personal聽reflection. All very intriguing!鈥 said Wagner.
The winners of the special distinction award were Ripunjay Singh 鈥21, Alejandro Gomez 鈥21, Jili Zhu 鈥21, Brian Bates 鈥21 and Esther Kolade 鈥21. Honorable mentions included Dakota Stein 鈥21, David Rampersad 鈥21, Chantel Elliott 鈥21, Mark Mineses 鈥21 and Anna Maguire 鈥21.
鈥淭he ongoing purpose for the essay contest, indeed for the Common聽Reading聽Program itself, is to provide freshmen with a聽shared聽platform for intellectual exploration that聽centers聽around the written word. This year’s book鈥The Art of Work鈥has certainly kept聽students聽artfully聽engaged in the writing process AND in the聽process聽of discovering themselves,鈥 said Wagner.
