Coast Students Celebrate Becoming Published Authors

62 student authors from Gulfport High, West Harrison High, and Hancock High Schools recently celebrated becoming published authors of the works Ocean of Possibilities, Dream Big, and Bright Future through a series of book signing events held across the Coast.

The students participated in IDS’ Self-Awareness Training Program, an 8-12 week course under ToTAL designed to build self-advocacy, social-emotional learning, and self-expression skills. Each class is tailored to meet the needs and size of the group. Students meet with IDS staff weekly to explore writing prompts connected to career exploration, self-advocacy, and personal growth. They wrote in a variety of genres including narrative, fiction, instructional, and nonfiction based on the weekly topics. Every story written is meaningful and offers a unique perspective. The program concludes with the publishing of students’ works without editing to honor their authenticity.

The published books are available on Amazon, Books-a-Million, Barnes & Noble, and 120 other retailers. Self-advocates from these three regional high schools, alongside IDS staff, celebrated their journey to authorship with a book release party and book signing event. If you would like to support these young writers, please follow the links below to purchase one (or all!) of the published books.

West Harrison High School – Ocean of Possibilities (Buy on Amazon for just $7.95)
Gulfport High School – Dream Big (Buy on Amazon for just $7.95)
Hancock High School – Bright Future (Buy on Amazon for just $7.95)

IDS would like to thank MDRS for their valued partnership in helping these self-advocates realize their future career goals. We are so proud of these students and look forward to seeing what they accomplish in their future.

For more information about IDS’ Self-Awareness Training or ToTAL program, please contact Beth Robertson via phone at 228-214-3422 or e-mail at beth.robertson@usm.edu.