Coastal Carolina University's incoming freshman class, 2,300 strong, all dressed up in Sunday best, received its official welcome at New Student Convocation ceremonies on Sunday, Aug. 21, in the HTC Center, filling all the bleachers and chairs on the floor.

"The next time you will be together like this will be at your graduation in 2020," said Debbie Conner, vice president of campus life and student engagement.

Of the new freshmen, 44 percent are from South Carolina, 41 percent are from other states and 14 percent are from other countries. They have an average 3.4 GPA from high school, and nearly half of them are science majors.

As part of its first meeting, the freshman class heard from Big Read authors Jessica Posner and Kennedy Odede, who co-wrote "Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss and Hope in an African Slum." It's the riveting nonfiction account of how two people from different cultures met in Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya, Africa, fell in love and started a movement of hope. With a $10,000 grant, the couple established the Kibera School for Girls and a community clinic that now serves more than 20,000 people.

CCU's selection of "Find Me Unafraid" marked the first time the book has been chosen by a college or university as a freshman reading project. They called it "humbling" that interest from students, displayed in group discussions after the convocation, was so high.

"Jessica's story and my story is that we are all human beings no matter where we come from," said Odede, who married Posner in 2015. "With all this privilege you have, you can do much more. There is no excuse for not doing something good!"

Posner, from Denver, Colo., exhorted students to "step outside your comfort zone and do a few things to show you what the world looks like. Talk to a person from another country, take a study abroad trip. That one thing could change the trajectory of your life. It's what happened to me."

A student at Wesleyan University, Posner traveled to Africa in 2007 to work with Odede in his street theater program, an initiative he had started to improve his community and give his people hope. Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) is Odede's organization of local empowerment that led to the girls' school, which in turn led to the African's acceptance into Wesleyan on full scholarship and a degree four years later.

"Start small, break down barriers, do something that scares you," said Posner. "Think about boundaries that shouldn't be there. Be unafraid."

Odede said people should "forgive and appreciate one another, as you never know who you're going to inspire."