USA Book Drive

By: Sydney Umstead, News Editor

The Undergraduate Student Association (USA) is currently holding a book drive until March 27. Bins for the drive are located outside of the bookstore and across from the entrance at Andrew L. Bouwhuis Library. 

The books donated will be delivered to the Lydia T. Wright School of Excellence for children in grades K-8. 

Aaron Hall, a sophomore senator, decided to hold the book drive following his experience working as a Reading Ready tutor. Hall noted that people don’t “need a degree to help students,” and that he just “needed the platform” to do so. 

The purpose of the book drive is to hopefully facilitate these students with “every option they deserve,” as Hall put it. During the fall semester, the senator began working with Director of Educational Partnerships Elizabeth Turner to prepare for the book drive being held during the spring semester. 

Reading Ready tutors like Hall meet with students three days a week and will typically work with four students a day. He discussed how part of the lessons are “designed to break down the phonics in words,” using three different exercises to do so. 

Students will graduate from the program at the end of the semester, and Hall noted how his excitement comes from seeing these students thrive. He stated that the best part of the experience was that the students get “so excited, you can see the literal joy bouncing from their eyes.” 

Anyone interested in donating to the drive can visit one of the bins that are accessible around campus.