51茶馆

Jennifer Quick (she/her) is the community engagement officer for 51茶馆 North Texas. Her first memory connected to reading happened in first grade. She was doing so well with her reading development that she was allowed to select a new, harder book from her teacher鈥檚 鈥渟pecial cabinet.鈥� 鈥淚 still remember the book,鈥� she says. 鈥� by Bruce Degen.鈥�

Jennifer also remembers spending a lot of time with her set of encyclopedias. 鈥淚 won them in an Oreo stacking contest when I was three (I know, right?), and I spent a lot of time pouring through them with my sister. I remember laying on my belly in the middle of our living room as we looked up dog breeds, foreign cities, maps, and more. I loved that anything I wanted to know about was right there at my fingertips…and then the internet was invented and how we accessed information changed completely.鈥�

Another thing that鈥檚 changed over the years is Jennifer鈥檚 book selection process. 鈥淎s a young reader, I stuck to similar genres and types of books,鈥� she says. 鈥淣ow I try to make sure I have a 鈥榳ell-balanced鈥� reading diet. I’ve grown to really love narrative non-fiction books as a result of this.鈥� When she reads today, she feels transported, immersed, and pensive.

Books have always held a special place in Jennifer鈥檚 life. They show students the world and teach them empathy, and she doesn鈥檛 think it鈥檚 just a coincidence that those two things go hand in hand.

鈥淏y getting out of our comfort zones and seeing what life is like for people from all walks of life, we truly begin to deepen our understanding of why things are the way they are,鈥� Jennifer says. 鈥淓mpathy grows from this understanding.鈥�