PHOTO | Kendra Campbell
The freshmen class of 2010 read “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini as the common reader. The WT readership program was created to give freshmen a common experience that would expose them to the world outside of their own.
Every year the common reader is incorporated into the academics of freshmen level courses such as English or history.
This program encourages freshmen to look outside of themselves and carefully evaluate the world around them as they learn of hardships faced by others. In fact, this Spring Break a select group of freshmen traveled to Turkey to experience life in the Middle East, which was the setting of the book.
The students were able to live in the homes of several Turkish families as they volunteered to teach English at the local school in Goreme.
“I was really nervous about living with a family, but all the kids had letters and pictures that we had sent them earlier in the semester and were searching our faces trying to find their house guests,” Jaqueline Cervantes said.
Some families were more proficient than others at English, making communication complicated for some students.
“It was really hard trying to adapt to their life, but the hospitality they showed was amazing,” Miguel Garcia said.
Several students agreed that the hospitality and warmth they received from the Turkish families was astounding and made them feel much more at ease.
“It seemed like the kids were my own little brothers and sisters that I’ve known my whole life,” Tiffani Garcia said.
Once the students had a few days to grow accustomed to the new environment and culture, they spent their mornings volunteering to teach English at the local school on Monday through Wednesday. They spent the afternoons as a group touring local landmarks and historic locations. The evenings were spent with the group of students discussing the events that had occurred throughout the day.
“We were all put into situations where we had to perservere,” said Tiffani Garcia. “It made us better people in the end.