First Year Experience

First Year Reading Project

Florida Gulf Coast University's First Year Reading Project introduces incoming students to the expectations of learning at an institution of higher education. All first-year students read a common book during the summer, usually a novel or work of non-fiction, and complete a writing assignment regarding the book. The book is discussed in Composition I and II classes and in the First Year Humanities Seminar in the fall semester, and sometimes in other classes.

The First Year Reading project engages students in critical thinking and writing skills, preparing them for a rigorous academic experience, and connects them to the campus community so that they are supported in this experience. In this way, students become a part of the community at Florida Gulf Coast University and come prepared for our unique learning experience.
 
Summer 2009 Reading Project

All incoming first year students at Florida Gulf Coast University will read Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time in order to explore FGCU's Learning Goal Community Awareness and Involvement. Mortenson's title comes from a Baltistan proverb: "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family." This tale describes the way in which Mortenson builds schools in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan, overcoming enormous cultural divides and fostering peace. The book broadens our understanding of community and provides depth to our notions of civic engagement and involvement.

The summer reading assignment expects students to analyze the issue of civic engagement in the book, as well as to consider the relationship between what students learn in the book and their own interactions with diverse communities. Ultimately students should begin to understand and address the ten General Education Learning Goals in order to begin their own growth and development (these goals are located at http://www.fgcu.edu/General_Education/learninggoals.html). 

Click here to download the First Year Reading Project Study Guide.

Contact Information
Linda Rowland
Email: lrowland@fgcu.edu
Phone: (239) 590-7254