"One Book, One RMS" 2019 Author Visits School
Story Submitted by: Cara Schuster
On October 17, 2019, Rotolo Middle School was excited to host author, Caitlin Alifirenka, of “I Will Always Write Back”, the 2019 “One Book, One RMS” book selection. “I Will Always Write Back” is the story of penpals Caitlin and Martin. Caitlin is in 7th Grade growing up in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Martin lives in the small town of Mutare in Zimbabwe in Africa. Their friendship grows and Caitlin begins to understand that Martin’s life is not as easy as hers. She and her family work to improve his situation and eventually get him to the USA where he attends college. Fast forward to now and Caitlin is married and a nurse and Martin works in Manhatten for a financial firm. On October 17th, Caitlin visited Rotolo Middle School and shared the story of her and Martin’s friendship. Students were transfixed during the presentation as they found out what happened after the end of “I Will Always Write Back.” Catilin’s overarching message was, “A small act of kindness can change a person’s life. Go out and do kind things.”
