Pulitzer Prize winner to discuss immigration at Rider

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sonia Nazario will speak at Rider University on Oct. 19 at 6:45 p.m. in the Bart Luedeke Center. Her appearance is the keynote address of the University's 2016-17 Shared Read program, which encourages students, faculty, staff and alumni to read one book as a community and participate in engaged conversation.

Nazario wrote this year's selection, Enrique’s Journey. The book puts a spotlight on immigration by telling the story of a young boy’s journey from Honduras to the U.S. in an effort to reunite with his mother, who had made the journey 11 years earlier.  

In her talk at Rider, which is free and open to the public, she’ll discuss how traditional approaches to the issue of immigration — proposed by both the left and right — haven’t worked and offer novel solutions to one of America’s thorniest issues. “The story of ‘Enrique's Journey’ is about children in Central America escaping gang violence and poverty by getting on top of freight trains and making this journey across Mexico alone,” says Dr. Anne Law, special assistant to the provost who coordinated the committee that chose this year’s book. “It’s a story of courage, a story that enriches our understanding by putting a new face to the meaning of having immigrants arrive at the border.”
 Given how timely the topic of immigration is — it has been a major issue in the 2016 presidential election — Dean of Freshmen Ira Mayo hopes the book will stimulate many discussions. “Sitting down with somebody and having an intelligent discussion based on something you have read or learned is really what makes college worthwhile,” Mayo says. “That is what makes the experience so invigorating.” 

In previous years, the Shared Read has succeeded in stimulating conversations about important topics like poverty and injustice. In 2014, Jeannette Walls delivered an inspiring talk about the experiences of growing up poor, which she recounted in her runaway best-seller The Glass Castle. In 2015, Bryan Stevenson, the author of Just Mercy, captivated the University by weaving together personal stories of working with the underprivileged and condemned along with his recipe for changing the world.
 The Shared Read program started three years ago as a way for Rider to expose new students to its learner-centered mission. The chosen book is given primarily to freshmen, although it is offered free of charge to the entire Rider community. At orientation, first-year students receive the book along with an assignment, which introduces them to their academic responsibility while creating a common ground of discussion among their new community.  
 Nozario was a journalist for more than two decades who wrote about social issues like hunger, drug addiction and immigration for newspapers. First published as a feature series in the Los Angeles Times, Enrique’s Journey was later converted into a book that is used across the country to spark conversations on immigration, racial discrimination, U.S. foreign policy and other issues. Enrique’s Journey, which was selected for the Shared Read program by a committee of faculty, staff and students, won the Pulitzer Prize for writing in 2003.   

Rider University offers other Shared Read events throughout the year for students, faculty, staff and alumni to participate in. These include an International Film Series, a photo exhibit and a presentation by photographer/filmmaker Walter Chang, and multiple events around the documentary I Learn America.
 For more information about this event or the Shared Read program, please contact Associate Dean Ira Mayo at ext. 5195 or [email protected].