Common Reading Experience
Kent State University 2018 Common Reading Book Announced
The Common Reading Committee and the Office of Student Success Programs are pleased to announce the selection of this year’s Kent State Common Reading book Everyday Ambassador: Make a Difference by Connecting in a Disconnected World by Kate Otto.
In Everyday Ambassador Kate Otto brings people together even as our digital networks pull us further apart. In a world of limitless technology, we are more connected than ever before but our hyper-connected lifestyles threaten our ability to know ourselves and interact with each other. By focusing on the four core values that allow us to become truly “connected” in tech-centric societies—empathy, patience, focus, and humility—Otto demonstrates that the power of technology is not in the tool, but in the intention of the person using it.
Everyday Ambassador offers a unique solution to those who aspire to truly make a difference in the twenty-first century—revealing the secrets of how to unite people, even when technology keeps us at a distance from others—emotionally and physically. Otto helps us lift our heads up from our cell phones and tablets and take a look at the people standing right in front of us.
In a time when good citizenship is the new currency of cool, Everyday Ambassador gives us the tactics to connect in our disconnected world.
About the author: Kate Otto is the founder and director of Everyday Ambassador, a network for young individuals who are currently pursuing or have completed an international service opportunity, fellowship, or travel abroad experience. She is also a global health consultant who has worked for several development institutions and grassroots organizations, including The World Bank and USAID. She writes for Huffington Post and Christian Science Monitor and currently lives in New York City.
Praise:
"Kate Otto is the ultimate example of how someone can mobilize the spirit, the heart, and a true love for mankind
to become an everyday ambassador...We all have a role to play in building a more peaceful world for future generations,
and this book shows us how to act in order to build that better future."
– Alicia Keys, activist and Grammy Award-winning artist