Freshman Common Reader

The Freshman Common Reading and Writing Experience serves as the first academic assignment for incoming freshmen. Students receive a copy of the book during summer orientation along with support materials. Students are required to complete the related online writing assignment before arriving on campus and then participate in small group discussions following Freshman Convocation. The book is used in a variety of fall semester classes and sets the theme for the Freshman Connections learning community programming. The author of the book visits campus during September and presents a free public lecture.

Kelsey Timmerman, Author of Where Am I Wearing, September 18, 7:30 p.m.

Kelsey Timmerman believes that if we reduce global issues to the stories of individual people, we can better see ourselves, our parents, our sons and daughters, and our hopes and struggles in one another.

Whether laughing at the world with garment workers in Cambodia or talking with college students in Indiana, discussing SCUBA diving with lobster divers in Nicaragua or addressing a nonprofit in Florida, playing PlayStation with students in Kosovo or challenging high school students in the U.S. to see the world differently, the author seeks to connect people through words and pictures.

In his first book, WHERE AM I WEARING? Kelsey traveled the world to find out where his clothes came from. Visiting garment factories in Asia and Latin America, he shared the stories of the people who make our clothes. From a 20-something T-shirt maker in Honduras to a single mother of two in Bangladesh, Timmerman humanizes the issues of globalization and provokes readers to check their tags and think about where their clothing came from.

If you would like to know more about the author you can visit his website, http://whereamiwearing.com/, or if you have questions for the author, please go to Twitter and tweet him @KelseyTimmerman.