Awaken 101

Awaken 101 offers readers a chance to explore what it means to pursue transformational education experiences. The authors' deep sense of commitment to student well-being and their quest for universities to be places that embrace an ethic of care are evident with every turn of the page… A must-read for college students." - Jacqueline Edmondson, Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer, Penn State Greater Allegheny

"My deep gratitude to Christopher Uhl and Melissa DiJulio for Awaken 101. In the academic context, it is truly a work of vision and courageous vulnerability. As readers, my invitation to you is to hold all of your current beliefs about your life goals, societal norms, and the nature-of-things loosely as you journey through the pages of this book. Openly, wholeheartedly, live into the exercises, into the questions. Lean into what is uncomfortable. Step beyond previously perceived boundaries. In other words, my invitation to you is to fully show up and give this everything you've got. May it embark you on dreams beyond your wildest plans." - Jamie K. Reaser, author of Note to Self: Poems for Changing the World from the Inside Out

"For members of the anxious generation who were born after 9/11, who grew up during the Great Recession, and who came of age in a time of climate emergency, here is a book unlike others. Not a study guide for the college entrance exams or a standard text for a major chosen with an eye on paying off educational debt, this book draws wisdom from a wide range of sources to invite young adults to awake, reflect, connect, and choose to live in more mindful, engaged, and satisfying ways. Themselves from different generations and genders, DiJulio and Uhl offer with clarity and concision a compelling call to Awaken!" - Julia Spicher Kasdorf, author of Shale Play: Poems and Photographs from the Fracking Fields

"Awaken 101 takes readers on a journey that strikes me as revolutionary to both our perceptions and our life choices. I predict that it has the potential for a wide and even redemptive cultural impact; and that it will be eagerly taken up by young people in search of meaning and purpose in these tumultuous times, as well as by educators, parents and helping professionals." - Joanna Macy, author of Active Hope

"Who am I? Why am I here? How can I be of service to life? These are the kinds of big questions that readers are invited to explore in Awaken 101. As such, this book would be a great choice for college first-year seminar courses aimed at guiding emerging adults in the quest for self-discovery, as well as for teachers seeking ways to support young people in their development as engaged learners and citizens." - Jeff Adams, Associate Vice President and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education at Penn State University.