Hilbert College announces its eighth annual Hilbert Reads event featuring a remote presentation by Stephanie Land, author of “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive”, on Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 6:30pm. The Hilbert Reads program is a common intellectual reading experience that engages students, creates a sense of community through cross-disciplinary conversations, and is an integral part of the first course of the Hilbert Blueprint, GS 101: Foundations Seminar. Ms. Land’s bestselling debut memoir was first introduced to freshman students during this summer’s New Student Orientation and is incorporated into the curriculum of their GS 101 course. On the first day of classes, every first-year student received their own copy of this year’s selected text from their GS 101 instructor. Over a period of several weeks, the class will explore its themes through both class discussion and written reflections. These experiences give students the opportunity to think more deeply about the issues raised in the book and prepares them for the author event in October. In their reading and through participation in guided activities, students will confront the complexities, frustrations, uncertainties, and dangers associated with living on the margins of society as Land recounts her harrowing saga as a single mother navigating the poverty trap. Her unflinching and inspiring testimony exposes the physical, economic, and social brutality that domestic workers face, all while radiating a parent’s hope and resilience. On the day of the Hilbert Reads event, Ms. Land will host a live Q and A session for the campus community. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions and share ideas to come to a greater understanding of the book’s significance.