AUGUST 27, 2009 ISSUE
ASU, Watauga Community Read Three Cups of Tea
Humanitarian Greg Mortenson To Participate in Upcoming Events
The book Three Cups of Tea is about humanitarian Greg Mortenson, who to date has built more than 90 schools in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Central Asia Institute
Every year, ASU assigns a selected book for reading by incoming freshmen during the summer before their first semester. The Summer Reading Program helps freshmen establish a common experience with other new students. Typically, the author of the selected work is the featured speaker at ASU’s Convocation in September.
In recent years, community members have joined ASU students in reading the Summer Reading Program selection. The Watauga Reads program holds separate programs related to the book for community members.
This year’s ASU Summer Reading and Watauga Reads selection is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, published in 2006. The book is about one man—Mortenson—who was determined to change the lives of young school-age children by building schools in remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Spurred on by the memory of his late sister and a failed attempt to reach the summit of K2, the world’s second-highest peak, Mortenson evolves from mountain climber to humanitarian.
As of this year, Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute has established more than 90 schools in rural and often volatile regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which provide education to more than 34,000 children, including 24,000 girls, for whom few education opportunities existed before.
In March 2009, Mortenson received Pakistan’s highest civil award, the Sitara-e-Pakistan (“Star of Pakistan”), for his dedicated humanitarian effort to promote education and literacy in rural areas for 15 years. In addition, several members of the U.S. Congress have nominated Mortenson for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, which is announced in October.
“This book illustrates the power of one individual to change the lives of many,” said ASU Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock in announcing the selection, according to the ASU Summer Reading website.
At ASU
Mortenson will speak to members of the campus community and others during ASU Convocation at the Holmes Center on Thursday, September 10, at 10:00 a.m. At 2:00 p.m. that day, he will take part in a panel discussion and question-and-answer session at Farthing Auditorium on campus.
Mortenson will also participate in an ASU Visiting Writers Series reading at 7:30 p.m. in Farthing Auditorium on September 10.
For more information, call the ASU Summer Reading director at 828-262-2320. For supplemental reading materials, click to www.SummerReading.appstate.edu.
At Watauga Public Library
As part of Watauga Reads, a community-wide book discussion on Three Cups of Tea is scheduled to take place at the Watauga Public Library in downtown Boone on Monday, August 31, at 6:30 p.m. An ASU professor will facilitate the discussion in the library’s meeting room.
Mortenson will appear at the library for a presentation and book signing in the meeting room on Thursday, September 10, at 4:00 p.m. Plan to arrive early because of limited seating.
For more information, call the Watauga Public Library at 828-264-8784.
At Caldwell Community College
Three Cups of Tea is also required and recommended reading for students at the Caldwell Community College Watauga campus. A panel discussion facilitated by English professor Suzanne Shaut and featuring several speakers will take place on Thursday, September 17, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in room 112 at the community college.
For more information, call 828-297-3811.
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