Behind the Scenes Spotlight: Brooke Carbaugh

I am a senior English Secondary Education major at Hope College with a minor in history secondary education. I grew up in Central Pennsylvania and other than the Big Read I am involved with Residential Life and the Education Technology Team on campus. What’s your role on the Big Read team?  My role on the …

Behind the Scenes Spotlight: Shelly Arnold

Shelly has been with Hope College since 2003. Her main role is the office manager for the Center for Ministry Studies. She earned a second post-secondary degree in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree from Hope majoring in history with an art history minor.  What’s your role on the Big Read team? Shelly began working part-time …

Behind the Scenes Spotlight: Nancy Gately

Next up in our series, we have Nancy Gately. Nancy is a fifth-year senior majoring in English for Secondary Education with minors in History for Secondary Education, K-12 English as a Second Language, and Women’s and Gender Studies. Nancy is also a Holland native and is a fan of a good cup of coffee.  Q …

Behind the Scenes Spotlight: Addie Wilcox

We’re starting a new series to feature all of our workers behind the scenes that make the Big Read and Little Read Lakeshore happen. Come back each Monday to learn more about our team members, what they learned from working for the program, and their favorite books! Introducing Addie Wilcox Addie is a sophomore at …

Takeaways from Circe

Part of the joy of the Big Read Lakeshore program is reading a book on your own and then learning about the book from different perspectives.  One of my biggest takeaways from the programming around Circe was how ingrained storytelling and myths are in culture. Every civilization has stories and oral traditions to pass down …

Connecting An American Sunrise to Circe 

This November marked my second year working for the Big Read Lakeshore. As a future teacher, the Big Read and Little Read Lakeshore programming has taught me a lot about the importance of reading and what it means to read in community. My first year working with the Big Read program and reading An American …

What We Learned from Matt de la Peña

Matt de la Peña visited Hope College’s campus on November 9. He spoke to 400 elementary students in the morning, a college English class, and to the public in the evening. His message was funny and inspiring since it touched on why readings matters, a topic that is near and dear to our program.  During …

Mythic: Kruizenga Art Museum

Each year the Kruizenga Art Museum (KAM) curates an exhibit based on the chosen Big Read Lakeshore book. This year the exhibit is based on Greek Mythology, specifically, characters included in Madeline Miller’s novel Circe.  Charles Mason, the curator at the KAM, mentioned that he thought about a few different things when selecting artwork for …

Firekeeper’s Daughter: The Hero’s Journey and the Ojibwe Medicine Wheel

The 2021 Big Read programming featured Angeline Boulley and her debut novel Firekeeper’s Daughter. Her book is one example of following the hero’s journey, but it contains a twist by also using the Ojibwe medicine wheel to create the story. She discussed the structure of her book at the Michigan Council of Teachers of English …

Heroes and the Home

They say home is where the heart is a trend which is true for many heroes as they leave home to embark on the hero’s journey.  In one of the Big Read meetings for our area teachers, participants were asked what aspect of home they miss most when they go away from home. I answered …