Greetings Class of 2019! By now you should have received your copy of Wes Moore’s The Work: My Search for a Life that Matters. The Work is one element of our 2015 – 2016 Common Experience “Just Communities.” Over the course of your first year at High Point University, faculty, staff, and students will engage in a yearlong exploration of community through discussions, campus events, and residential programming. We will consider what it takes to build a community, and how communities determine what is just and fair. The conversation begins this summer as you read Wes Moore’s The Work and participate in our Common Experience Summer Read blog. Here you will have the opportunity to discuss the book with your classmates and members of HPU’s faculty and staff, taking your first steps in integrating yourself into High Point’s community. You will also learn more about the variety of services and opportunities that await you, as guest bloggers from across campus discuss The Work and what matters most to them about college, work, and community.
In the introduction, Moore describes The Work as a “book about what comes next: it’s about how we come alive” (xvii). As you begin to read, you might consider the things in your life that excite you the most and drive your sense of accomplishment. How do you plan to “come alive” at HPU, and what are some of the classes and experiences you are most eager to start? Of course, the transition from high school to college can be overwhelming. As Moore notes, “Possibilities and choices suddenly abound. And for a lot of us it’s terrifying” (xix). It’s okay if you don’t have every detail of your next four years planned out yet. In fact, it might even be better not to. College is a place for you to learn and grow, to embark upon rigorous study and adventures you may not yet have even considered. This, in itself, is a kind of work; one that requires patience, diligence, and an understanding that true success comes from persistence and perseverance.
High Point University offers a values-based education committed to academic excellence and helping students learn to lead lives of significance. Our mission embodies The Work’s call to action that it is imperative we “find ways of not just working to live, but finding the work of our lives” (xx). As you read The Work this summer, we hope you will consider what Moore’s notion of “work” means to you, and join the conversation on how you will begin your life of significance here at High Point University. Students should comment on the book, questions raised in the blog posts, and on the discussion in the “Comments” section. Weekly “coffee talk” Starbucks gift cards will be awarded for the “comment of the week.” In addition to your participation on this blog, we encourage you to engage with the Common Experience through social media using #hpucommunity. We want to see on Instragram, Twitter, and Facebook how you are working with The Work this summer! At the end of July, the two most active and meaningfully engaged participants will be awarded Apple iPad minis. Additional contests and challenges will be announced throughout the summer. Make sure to login in regularly to stay a part of the discussion. New posts will appear on Monday and Thursday of each week during the months of June and July.
Students who have questions about the blog or the Common Experience should contact [email protected]. We look forward to “working” with you this summer!