Zach Usmani, a senior majoring in sociology, is getting ready to head off to Tulsa, Oklahoma where he will spend two years as a high school science instructor in the Teach For America program. However, before Zach leaves Ohio State, he is determined to get a new book into the hands of every child in all of the Columbus Public Schools grades K-5. Zach is heading the Office of Student Life’s “Stories for Students From Students” project to raise money from students at Ohio State to buy new books for students in the Columbus Public Schools system.

All of his life, Zach wanted to be a doctor so it seemed fitting that he came to Ohio State to study medicine. He took a different path mid-way through his sophomore year, however, when he enrolled in a sociology honor’s course, Social Inequality 463, and met professor Claudia Buchmann. “Dr. Buchmann literally changed my life,” said Usmani. “She opened my eyes to the significant disparities in the educational system. I knew almost immediately that I would be making a change.” Zach switched his major to sociology and his focus to combating educational inequity. Taking the lead on a project to get books into the hands of those least able to afford them was a logical first step for Zach.

The “Stories for Students” project launched in January and runs through April 9, 2010. Zach and other volunteers have set up 21 locations around campus where students (faculty and staff are welcome as well!) can stop by and donate $5 to buy a book. Book titles – selected by teachers and students alike -- include Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears (Kindergarten), Tikki Tikki Tembo (Grade 1), Something Beautiful (Grade 2), Miss Rumphius (Grade 3), James and the Giant Peach (Grade 4), and When You Reach Me (Grade 5).

For a list of locations where you can make a donation to the “Stories for Students from Students” project, visit Ohio State's Office of Student Life at http://studentlife.osu.edu/stories.