Necessity is really the mother of invention when we see this idiom being incarnated in our daily lives.

Jessica Carroll, English major, provides one such example of transforming her need into her vision.

Carroll is the president of an upcoming club at Cerritos College that will start from next year.

The Literature Club will have something to offer to all the students, regardless of their major, Carroll emphasized.

“I first thought of the Literature Club when I got to Cerritos. I wanted to be involved on campus but could not find a club that would fit me and my major,” she explained.

Carroll plans on keeping the first half of the club meeting to be dedicated to questions members may have from their English classes, or even outside of the syllabi.

The second half of the meeting will be topic driven, inviting the members to bring up any topic of interest.

The first event of the club will be a “mixer,” that would introduce all the members to the format of the club and to each other.

She is currently recruiting members to the club, and will send out a newsletter that would inform them about the upcoming club “mixer.”

Interested students should contact her at [email protected] to stay informed about the latest updates from the club.

Some of the other club events in the pipeline include a Book to Film Night that would give the club members opportunity to vote on books that have been made into movies, and then arranging a film viewing for the students. A general discussion would also follow to discuss how well the book was adapted to the screen.

A Literature Open Mic Night is also planned that will invite students, faculty and staff members to read a short excerpt from their favorite form of literature and also explain why it means so much to them.

The club also plans on having the San Francisco Shakespeare troop come down to perform condensed skits from Shakespeare’s works.

Carroll has been involved with the Psychology Club, moving up from being a member, to Inter Club Council representative and finally the vice president.

She feels her experience gives her enough confidence to try her efforts at the Literature Club.

Her goal for the club is to encourage students that may not have any kind of interest in reading to discover a hidden passion.

She also hopes to provide an opportunity for literature lovers to discover new works they never knew of.

She plans on having open discussions among club members in a friendly environment, without being intimidated by the presence of a teacher.

“I know there is a Writers’ Anonymous on campus, but we want to have an additional resource for readers to come and ask questions in a friendly environment,” she said, “especially since the budget cuts affect the tutoring available for students.”

Club advisor, Linda Palumbo, said, “This club is wonderful for students who are involved with not only the traditional genre of literature, such as drama, but also the new genres as well, such as texting, blogs and Twitter.”

Carroll also emphasized on this point, “We also want the club to be fun. Keep in mind, we don’t just think of literature as the novel form, but also, poetry, screen play, manga or any other form of digital literature, music, or almost anything else that is written. So, really, there will be something for everyone.”

Her fellow students, Jenny Hernandez, English major, and Gladys Gonzalez, English major, will also be a part of the Literary Club, taking on the responsibilities of vice presidents.