Laura Gao, author and illustrator of Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American and Coppell High School alum, will be visiting Cozby Library and Community Commons at 2 pm, Sunday, May 1, for a special event entitled, An Afternoon with Laura Gao. As of March 23, 2022, Messy Roots is number 14 on IndieBound.org’s Indie Bestsellers for Young Adults list.
In advance of An Afternoon with Laura Gao, community members can submit questions for the Q&A portion of the program and vote on their favorites on a website specially designed for the event.
The website was created by Coppell High School seniors and Cozby Library volunteers Hari Srikanth and Bhavesh Mandalapu. Librarian Morgan Green- Griffin said she knew she wanted to gather community input for the Q&A portion of the event and when she decided on a website she approached Srikanth about making it happen. Green-Griffin knows Srikanth through his four years of volunteer work at the Cozby Library and he had approached Green-Griffin many times about special technology-based projects.
“About two years ago, we discussed his interests and skillsets at length,” she said. “I promised that if I ever had the right opportunity, I’d let him know. When I thought of this idea, he was the first person I contacted.”
Srikanth is also the Artificial Intelligence Club's president and enjoys exploring the applications of computer science in the field of medicine. Mandalapu is the Artificial Intelligence Club lecturer and participates in the National Honor Society and the Technology Student Association.
The site is now active, and residents are encouraged to submit their questions or vote on a question for Gao to answer during her program. For more information about An Afternoon with Laura Gao, visit the library's online calendar, call 972-304-3658 or email the library.