This year’s TCU Common Reading author is coming to TCU tomorrow, Oct. 26.
Wes Moore, the author of “The Other Wes Moore,” will be speaking in the Brown-Lupton University Union Ballroom from 4:00-5:00 p.m.
Wes Moore is not only an author, but also an Army combat veteran, youth advocate, social entrepreneur, and host of “Beyond Belief” on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
“The Other Wes Moore” became an instant New York Times and Wall Street Journal best seller in 2010. This year it was chosen as the Common Reading for first-year students, designed to bring them together as a class and facilitate discussion.
“We are so excited to have Wes here, he’s a very engaging and powerful speaker,” said Laura Shaw, Operations Coordinator of Student Development Services. “I think he will talk a little bit about his background, but also about what he has done since then, so students will get to see where he is today and see what he is most passionate about.”
Shaw was one of many on the board that chose the Common Reading for this year’s first-year students.
“We have the Common Reading committee which is composed of faculty members and staff members,” Shaw said. “Each year we come to the table and bring books we think would be interesting.”
Shaw said “The Other Wes Moore” was an instant favorite among faculty and staff that had heard Moore speak before and found him highly engaging.
Although the event is geared toward first-year students, Shaw said all are welcome to attend.
“His message is so important, him being an African American male in Baltimore,” Shaw said. “This is a crisis that our nation is seeing right now and he has a firsthand account of it, so I think it would be helpful for people to hear his story and his take on everything.”
Moore’s keynote speech will be followed by a roundtable discussion. Honors students, faculty, and graduate students will have the opportunity to discuss some of the issues presented in “The Other Wes Moore.” Students will also discuss potential solutions to the social, racial, and educational problems presented in the book.
In addition, Student Development Services will be hosting a dinner in honor of Wes Moore. He will be in attendance to answer questions that students or faculty have.
Shaw said there were a limited number of open seats and decided to include mainly first-year students.
“We focused on first year students,” Shaw said. “We invited faculty and staff who led Common Reading. We really focused on the class of community scholars and chancellor’s scholars,” Shaw said.
Although both the round table discussion and dinner are exclusive events, Shaw said that everyone could learn a lot from Moore’s message during his keynote speech.
“I’m not exactly sure what he will be talking about, but it will be a great message,” Shaw said.
Students interested in attending Wes Moore’s speech tomorrow can get a ticket here.
