{"id":19453,"date":"2021-02-17T15:17:46","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T15:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/?p=19453"},"modified":"2023-06-08T18:24:08","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T18:24:08","slug":"alumni-fulbright-helen-thomas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/02\/17\/alumni-fulbright-helen-thomas","title":{"rendered":"Young adult books connect Black girls globally"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Helen
Helen K. Thomas. Courtesy photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A fan of young adult fiction growing up in Seattle, Helen K. Thomas majored in English at Spelman College. She then explored different ways of thinking about the genre in a Master of Arts in Cultural Studies program in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences<\/a> at the University of Washington Bothell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, she\u2019s researching the global appeal of the books with a Fulbright award to lead reading circles with teen girls in Lagos, Nigeria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the coronavirus pandemic is far from over, Thomas plans to start her nine-month Fulbright this spring. 足彩app哪个是正规的 girls in her reading circles will be at least 6 feet apart and wearing masks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas will be affiliated with a particular school, but she also hopes to work in a community setting to reach more diverse girls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

足彩app哪个是正规的 power of literature <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy goal is to see how these books create a greater sense of agency in the Nigerian girls\u2019 sense of their future, and then also to see how reading these books creates a stronger sense of community and interest in other Black girls around the world,\u201d Thomas said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also will be a personal journey for Thomas, who was born in Lagos and came to the United States as a 5-year-old. She made a brief visit to Africa a few years ago, but this will be her first opportunity to spend this much time in Nigeria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A reader of all kinds of literature, Thomas always has had a passion for young adult books. On a library shelf, the books are identified with YA on the spine. YA authors are not afraid to lean into what it really feels like to be a teenager, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith YA, I love that you\u2019re allowed to be emotional and explore the world genuinely and with a sense of curiosity,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI\u2019ve always loved the books that allowed me to step into somebody else\u2019s shoes or reflected who I was growing up.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

YA influences <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the books she recalls reading as a girl was the \u201c足彩app哪个是正规的 Skin I\u2019m In\u201d by Sharon G. Flake. Published in 1998, the book is about a \u201cBlack girl in middle school learning to stand up for herself and learning to be brave and love herself,\u201d Thomas said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some other favorite authors are Brandy Colbert, perhaps best known for \u201cLittle & Lion,\u201d and Tiffany D. Jackson, known for \u201cAllegedly,\u201d and \u201cMonday\u2019s Not Coming.\u201d Featuring a Black woman author and Black girl protagonist, \u201cMonday\u2019s not Coming\u201d is one of the books Thomas hopes will foster a sense of global citizenship in the reading circles in Nigeria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so important to feel connected to other people that may look like you \u2014 that may not look like you,\u201d she said. \u201cJust because you live in one country doesn\u2019t mean you are entirely different from somebody who lives in another country or different continent. I think literature is a way to build that empathy, and build that interest and build that connection.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas has written YA fiction as an adult, both short stories and book drafts. She\u2019s also interested in screenwriting and was a 2020 fellow in the Jack Straw Writers Program in Seattle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researching culture <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a 2016 graduate of UW Bothell\u2019s MACS program, Thomas said, \u201cI carry what I learned with me every day in how I interact with people, how I see the world and better understand why what\u2019s going on is going on.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

足彩app哪个是正规的 faculty encouraged her intellectual curiosity and rigor, she added, noting that especially influential were Associate Professor Susan Harewood, Professor Ron Krabill, Associate Professor Lauren Berliner and Assistant Professor Sarah Dowling. \u201c足彩app哪个是正规的y were all genuine champions of the work that I was doing, and that really meant the world to me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really feel the work I did in my grad program at Bothell was a precursor for me being able to do the work I\u2019m about to do on the Fulbright. I feel that while I was at Bothell, my interest in true research was born and flourished and encouraged,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to continue this research side of me, to bring that over from grad school and continue it with Fulbright.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

\n\n <\/path>\n<\/svg>

Fulbright is a prestigious federal program that funds teaching and research abroad to foster mutual understanding. More information is available from the UW Bothell Office of Global Initiatives<\/a>. \n <\/path>\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

YA favorites <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thomas read the popular \u201cHunger Games\u201d series by Suzanne Collins and the \u201cTwilight\u201d series by Stephenie Meyer. Here are some other books Thomas loved reading: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • \u201cMore Happy than Not\u201d by Adam Silvera <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • \u201cLong Way Down\u201d by Jason Reynolds <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • \u201c足彩app哪个是正规的 First Part Last\u201d by Angela Johnson <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • \u201cBorn Confused\u201d by Tanuja Desai Hidier <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • \u201c足彩app哪个是正规的 Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian\u201d by Sherman Alexie. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A fan of young adult fiction, Helen K. Thomas explored the genre in the Master of Arts in Cultural Studies program and now is researching the books' global appeal with a Fulbright in Nigeria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[209,202,253,211,214],"tags":[254],"school":[419],"class_list":["post-19453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni","category-campus-news","category-global-impact","category-honors-and-awards","category-research","tag-fulbright","school-school-of-ias"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":"","link_2":"","link_3":"","link_4":"","link_5":""},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":"","button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"Contact Us","email":"test@uwb.edu","phone":"(206) 999-1234","box":"Box 358500","address_line_1":"18115 Campus Way NE","address_line_2":"Bothell, WA 98011-8246","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"\nYoung adult books connect Black girls globally - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/02\/17\/alumni-fulbright-helen-thomas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Young adult books connect Black girls globally - News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A fan of young adult fiction, Helen K. 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