News Release

EVENT NEWS / October 8, 2008

Boise State University Presents An Evening with 'Three Cups of Tea' Author Greg Mortenson on Nov. 18

Boise State University will present a free, open-to-the-public presentation by “Three Cups of Tea” author Greg Mortenson at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 in the Morrison Center. There are no tickets; seating is first-come, first-served. Groups of 10 or more should contact Brian MacDonald at (208) 426-4624 for seating arrangements.

Greg Mortenson, "Thre Cups of Tea" Click to Enlarge Image

Mortenson’s appearance is part of Boise State’s First Year Read program. Every new degree-seeking student was given a copy of “Three Cups of Tea” and has spent the fall semester discussing the book with fellow students and faculty in classes.

In its third year at Boise State, the First Year Read program is designed to encourage students to read beyond textbooks; raise awareness and tolerance of intergenerational and cultural likenesses and differences; promote academic discourse and critical thinking; provide an introduction to the expectations of higher education; integrate an academic and social experience into the campus community; and create a sense of community by increasing student-to-student and student-to-faculty interaction. It is coordinated by the Office of New Student and Family Programs.

“Three Cups of Tea” tells the story of Greg Mortenson, a great American hero who sold everything and lived in his car to make good on his promise to an impoverished Pakistani village to build a school for its children. In the process he has found himself playing a major role in one of the most historically and culturally pivotal areas in the world today.

In “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time,” Mortenson and acclaimed journalist David Oliver Relin recount the unlikely journey that led Mortenson from a failed attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, to successfully building schools in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. By replacing guns with pencils, rhetoric with reading, Mortenson combines his unique background with his intimate knowledge of the third world to fight terrorism with books, not bombs, and successfully bring education and hope to remote villages in central Asia.

Boise State’s inaugural 2006-07 First Year Read featured the book “Mountains Beyond Mountains,” by Tracy Kidder, one of the most popular reads by first-year students on college campuses. It was followed in the 2007-08 academic year by “The Deep Dark,” Gregg Olsen’s account of the Kellogg, Idaho, Sunshine Mine disaster.

For more information on Boise State’s First Year Read or Mortenson’s appearance, visit http://firstyearread.boisestate.edu.


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Media Contact: Julie Hahn, University Communications, (208) 426-5540, juliehahn@boisestate.edu

Boise State University is “The New U Rising” with record student enrollment, new academic buildings, additional degree programs and a growing research agenda. Learn more at www.boisestate.edu. 

 

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Last reviewed on Tuesday, October 14, 2008