FY Common Read Program

During the summer between high school graduation and coming to college, we ask that you take some time to complete a FY Common Read program selection. This program was created for incoming first year students to help ease the transition to college by creating a shared reading experience that will help you connect with other students, faculty and staff at Curry College.

The 2013 Summer Reading selection is Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival and My journey from Homelessness to Harvard by Liz Murray.  Winner of the 2011 Young Adult Library Services Association Alex Awards for the 10 Best Adult Books of the Year that also appeal to teens and a NY Times Best Seller, this book chronicles the experiences of a woman who was homeless at the age of 15 and the journey that leads to her re-commitment to education and eventual acceptance to Harvard University.

Students will be given the book and a brief introduction at the new student orientation sessions in June.  Following these sessions, students are tasked to read the book carefully throughout the summer and use discussion questions to better understand and deepen their knowledge of the book. Upon return to campus in the fall, First-Year students will participate in a discussion of the book in small groups along with a variety of other co-curricular programs related to the themes and topics in the book. This gives them an opportunity to share their views on the book and the events that took place in it both with other students and with members of the faculty and staff.  

If you have any questions about the FY Common Read program, please contact Carrie Cokely, Director, First Year Studies, at 617-333-2971 or ccokely@curry.edu.