More Community Activities (3)

Discover how communities and schools everywhere are using This I Believe.

New Haven, Connecticut
Southern Connecticut State University selected This I Believe as the first-year common read for this year’s incoming freshmen. More than 1,200 students were given the book during New Student Orientation and were charged with reading the book over the summer to begin to reflect on the fundamental values that guide their lives. Students are continuing with the book this fall and will explore what they believe and why, as individuals and as a community.

Fort Worth, Texas
The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life at Texas Christian University has created a This I Believe project on campus, in order to allow members of the TCU community to explore and share their core beliefs. Through writing, reading, and sharing their essays, the group hopes to “celebrate the diverse beliefs and values that make up our campus” and “come together around shared commonalities, values, stories, and beliefs.” Click here to learn more.

Chicago, Illinois
At the nonprofit organization GirlForward in Chicago, adolescent refugee girls have been writing their This I Believe essays during Camp GirlForward, a summer academic program. Being newly settled here from other countries around the world, including Iraq, Bhutan, Burundi, Somalia, and Burma, these girls have written about their beliefs in respect, dreams, freedom, education, and teachers. Click here to learn more about GirlForward.

Blacksburg, Virginia
At Virginia Tech, the Common Book committee has selected This I Believe II for the second academic year in a row. Incoming freshmen will read the book to enrich their first-year experience and create a sense of community. “Our decision was rooted in several factors: first, the feedback we got from students and faculty on the applicability of the book and these comments came from a wide range of departments,” noted Jennifer Sparrow. Click here and here to learn more.

Asheville, North Carolina
The entire fifth grade class of Isaac Dickson Elementary School recently shared their “This I Believe” essays on public radio station WCQS in Asheville, North Carolina. The station recorded 60 This I Believe essays, working with Janet Hurley of True Ink and Asheville Writers in the Schools. The children wrote essays about their beliefs in everything from recycling to Legos. Click here to listen to the power of these young voices.

High Point, North Carolina
At High Point University, students in Benita VanWinkle’s digital photography class wrote This I Believe essays, then created 10 digital photographs to support their statements. Students worked hard to edit their essays and refine the photographs to turn in the complete This I Believe project. Ms. VanWinkle and her students found that creating photographs that were a reflection of their beliefs was a “life-enriching experience.” Click here to learn more.

Carbondale, Colorado
At Glenwood Springs High School, students in Laura Hardman’s journalism class are getting experience in radio. After students write their This I Believe essays, the class chooses the top 10 to be recorded and broadcast locally on KDNK-FM. Stacy Stein, executive director of the station’s Youth Empowerment Program, says recording the essays “has really raised the bar for that assignment.” Click here, here and here to learn more.

Plymouth, Massachusetts
The women’s a capella group Persephone’s Daughters presented a concert in May entitled “This I Believe,” based on essays in the first two volumes of This I Believe books. Music director Lynne Wilkinson was inspired by reading the collections and chose music for the program that reflected the essence of beliefs and inspiration in the essays. Musical selections included Broadway songs, tunes by the Beatles, and classical pieces.

South Orange, New Jersey
Seton Hall University’s class of 2016 will read This I Believe as part of their common learning experience. Before the start of their freshman year, students participate in the Summer Reading Program to introduce them to academic life and encourage them to engage with campus life. Best of luck, freshmen. We hope your summer reading provides thoughtful reading, writing, and discussion!

Concord, New Hampshire
At NHTI–Concord Community College, the campus literary journal, The Eye, published a special section devoted to This I Believe essays. The student editors held a contest and selected four essays to feature, stating that the purpose of the journal and of writing itself is “to illustrate the importance of moments: moments of conception, moments of inspiration, moments of understanding.” The addition of the “This I Believe” section fosters such goals.