PVCC One Book Program Serves up Grit with Grits
On Sept. 24, this fall’s PVCC One Book Program kicked off their set of events planned for the season by inviting students, faculty and staff to the Main Building Event Space from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to give out free copies of this year’s book: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth, along with free bowls of grits made and served by PVCC’s Culinary Arts Program.
The One Book Program’s mission is to bring together PVCC’s community to discuss themes in the book chosen for each season’s program. Duckworth, a well-known psychologist, wrote Grit with the purpose of trying to answer the question: what is the true drive for success? According to Duckworth, it’s what goes through your head when you fall down, not talent or luck. When the hard times come, it’s someone’s passion and natural instinct to persevere that keeps us going.
That brings us to the culinary aspect of the event, with Culinary Arts Coordinator Caitlin McCabe and students from the PVCC Culinary Arts Program working alongside the One Book Program to bring us excellent Southern cuisine. Along with the vegan and traditional grits, they supplied butter, cheese, bacon, andouille sausage and pulled pork as well as sweet and savory vegetables such as tomatoes, mushrooms and sweet potatoes. One of the event’s attendees, PVCC Professor of Sociology Dr. Kim Hoosier said, “I don’t even eat grits, and they were delicious!” Future events for this fall’s One Book Program were hinted at by PVCC’s Director of Library and Academic Support Crystal Newell, including a panel on Oct. 16, where students and staff will take to the stage to share their experiences on how the values from Grit have influenced their careers. There will also be a showing of the award-winning documentary, Unseen, in celebration of the National Disability Employment Awareness Month on Oct. 21, as well as the Failing Forward photo contest available for submissions until Oct. 25, based on the prompt, “What does it look like to fail, but still succeed?” More information can be found on the library’s One Book page.
