Mike Heine

Professor Rodriguez

Freshman Convocation

    Stockton University held its freshman convocation on September 29th in the Performing Arts Center. The event was organized by the university and Dr. GT Lenard, the director of freshman seminars. The purpose of convocation was to discuss the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Ellen Forney, the book’s illustrator, was the speaker. Ms. Forney discussed the process of illustrating for Sherman Alexie’s book, highlighting the challenge of getting inside Arnold Spirit’s head in order to make the drawings as relevant as possible. She told us how she would pause at certain points as she read the draft and place an illustration at that point. After that, Forney discussed her own book, Marbles. Marbles is an autobiographical book discussing her experiences with bipolar disorder. In the book, she wrote about her feelings and how she dealt with mental illness on a day to day basis. Forney’s book also contained illustrations and she showed us several of them. At the end of convocation, the audience had the opportunity to ask questions. I did not ask her anything, but someone asked her if it was easier to illustrate for her own book or for someone else’s. I enjoyed this question and the ensuing discussion because she eventually started talking about her bipolar disorder. I don’t know many people affected by mental illness, but it is an interesting topic that I enjoy learning about. Overall, freshman convocation was an interesting experience with meaningful discussions and topics.