When now-junior Rory Cooper first came to Bowie, he didn’t fit into any clubs. None of them were able to hook him into taking the bait. 

“Why not make one of my own? “ Cooper said. “ I have the drive to go for something like this, so why not do it? “ 

That was the start of Turning The Pages, Bowie’s very own book club. Located in Room 800, the club was designed that once a month, the club members would meet in order to discuss a book they all read. It was English teacher Rachel Adams who both helped Cooper achieve his goal of starting a club, and also providing the meeting room. Adams had known Cooper since his freshman year, where she had recognized his love for reading after he would continuously visit her class to read and borrow books from her shelf. 

During Cooper’s freshman year, Adams actually challenged her student to read at least one book per month. “If I was able to do that, she would give him a book to keep,” Cooper said. “The first I got was “The Hate You Give,” and ever since then, Cooper has been reading more and more often. He decided he’d like to share the joy of reading with others, and did a great job of recruiting members for his club. 

“ I didn’t know who would show up, but each time there are more and more people, “ said Adams. 

Still, Cooper was caught off guard at the number of students who actually showed up. With reading levels lower than in years past, Cooper nor Adams thought they would have a big push from students to join. They were quickly proved wrong, as students began piling in. Enough students joined, the club elected a vice president  (Zariah Burrels) and and a historian (Felicity Lockett), who is also tasked with also running the Instagram page. 

“ I love the fact that we can come together and get people on the right reading levels, or just get a chance to talk about books,” Cooper said. “ It’s a win-win, and that’s helping everyone.”