Her face and name are familiar to the Yellow Jacket community (and especially guests of President Lindgren). Now, you will find both on the jacket of an award-winning children’s book.

Emily Harrison, who serves as Assistant to the President and the Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees, has published a children’s book, I’d Rather Be Me, which was recently honored with the Purple Dragonfly Book Award and as a Mom’s Choice Awards Gold Recipient. 

This debut story follows Hank the pup and details pressures to change who he is to fit in. (Spoiler alert: he rejects them!) 

Writing the book was a passion project for Harrison, who has served as the assistant to President Lindgren for most of his 19 years leading the College. Harrison took on the project in her spare time, borrowing its messages from both her personal and professional experiences. 

“The inspiration for the book came from seeing young adults coming to college, it’s so hard to just be yourself these days. It’s easy for them to be convinced that they need to change who they are just to fit in or be liked by certain people,” Harrison said. “I really wanted that message to reach children at a really young age.”

She also borrowed from her experiences as a mother of two grown sons and as the youngest of five children in a house she remembers as “glorious chaos.”

“I knew that I wanted to write a children’s book because that’s where my love of reading started,” Harrison explained. “I wanted to foster a love of reading in young children, I wanted it to be able to create memories with their parents, and I wanted to send a positive message.” 

I’d Rather Be Me is published by Belle Isle Books and features the illustrations of Argentine artist Dacil Curbelos. 

The Purple Dragonfly Book Award is part of a prestigious national book contest, hosted annually by Story Monsters LLC, which recognizes exceptional authors for excellence in writing and publishing. The Mom’s Choice Awards are globally recognized for establishing the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly media, products and services.

Harrison has celebrated the book’s release with book-signing events at stores and schools across the area, and one at the Randolph-Macon Campus Store during Family Weekend.

“It’s great that it’s receiving such positive attention,” Harrison said. “It’s not so much about how many books I sell, it’s about people seeing it. I love sharing the message with the kids.”