New Student Book Experience

UMBC’s summer book reading program connects new freshmen and transfer students with other new students, and with faculty and staff members at the start of the academic year. The New Student Book Experience provides an intellectually stimulating interaction that welcomes new students into the UMBC community. Small-group discussions for all entering students are facilitated by UMBC faculty and staff. These discussions allow everyone to come together and get a taste of the kind of discussion that is prevalent in many courses. This experience puts everyone on equal ground at the beginning of the year and allows for ideas to be shared and related back to a common source so that different interpretations may be thoroughly examined and discussed. The benefits of participating in the New Student Book Experience include:

1. The opportunity to participate in a Writing Contest
2. Reading and discussion that is good preparation for English 100, which uses the book in assignments throughout the semester. The discussion will be held Monday, August 25, 2008.
3. Related campus-wide lectures throughout the year.
4. Preparation for other classes, which discuss topics addressed by the book.

You can get involved in the New Student Book Experience before your first semester by reading the selected novel, joining the online discussion board (coming soon!), and participating in small-group discussions during Welcome Week.

This year’s selected book, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, is available at local booksellers and in the UMBC bookstore at a 30% discount.

Contact Jill Randles: 410-455-3715