First-Year Reading Experience – 2007
Essay Contest
The University of Montana sponsors an essay contest as part of the First-year Reading Experience for entering students. This year, students were required to read Greg Mortenson ’s book, Three Cups of Tea , and submit a 500- to 1000-word essay. Three prizes were given and excerpts from the essays are posted below.
The Mortenson Effect by Allison Maier--First Prize“People always say that one person can make a difference in the world, but is that really true?” I queried. “I can do small things like pay money so that one woman in Darfur can have a stove built in her house because she can’t leave for fear of being raped or murdered, but it doesn’t seem like everyone can be saved without backing by people with power and clout. And the government isn’t doing anything. People are begging for help all over the world, but they’re too busy killing people in Iraq to listen.” (I should note that it was about 7:00 in the morning and therefore it is quite possible that my argument wasn’t terribly articulate.) … Getting out of the car, I concluded that the world was devoid of anyone willing to sacrifice everything for the greater good… Later, I would sit down to begin reading.
Within the first few chapters, I started to rethink the pessimistic notions that had surfaced so vividly by the end of my senior of high school. I was reading about a man who was astonishingly selfless—sleeping in his car, showering at a gym, working night shifts, using a typewriter to create 580 individual letters to celebrities—in order to build a school for people he encountered by chance on the other side of the world.”
A Misunderstanding by Aaron Jungnitsch--Second Prize
Looking back, I do not see myself as a victim of the media. I allowed myself to view the world in that manner. Like so many people still do today, I chose to give into lies and ignorance. I failed to realize that with extremism came louder voices: voices that overpowered the voices of the sensible. My ignorance added to the mass of ignorant hate forming in America. As I matured I began to realize that often the loudest voices speak words that should not be heard. But also in looking back, I realize the importance of overcoming ignorance. Upon reading the story of Greg Mortenson in Three Cups of Tea I began to believe ignorance exists as the real enemy in our world.
A Respected Peace by Jordan Rooklyn--Third Prize
While building his first school, Mortenson learned that patience vastly different from America’s “thirty-minute power lunches and two-minute football drills” was needed (Relin 150). In the Pakistani culture, “building relationships is as important as building projects,” and tea is essential for the strengthening of those bonds. For the first cup of tea, you are a stranger, for the second cup you are an honored guest, and for the third cup you are family (Relin 150). Throughout his time in Pakistan, Mortenson has been considered family to many.
Contact the First-Year
Experience Committee
Webpages: Samantha Hines, Social Sciences Librarian
Last updated: 27 November 2007