Knightly News

Lower School Librarian Sara Gomez, Kadie Sumbler and Dr. Kredenna Beverly

What do you love? That’s the question posed to Episcopal Lower School students by author Dr. Kredenna Beverly. Dr. Beverly is an Episcopal parent and the author of the children’s book “I Am A Great Work in Progress.” She is also an avid unicyclist, which inspired her newly released story.

Dr. Beverly and her twin sister Dr. Katina Beverly have long loved to unicycle. Their passion for the sport is so great that they established the Unicycling Society of Louisiana with a mission to encourage children to try something different. “It’s ok to be you and who you are,” Dr. Beverly told Episcopal PreK and kindergarten students during her recent visit to the Greer Center.

“I Am A Great Work in Progress” is inspired by the sisters’ desire to share a message of empowerment with young people by teaching them to ride the unicycle. Despite their desire to teach children to ride, the twins were initially unable to find volunteers. Undeterred, they began teaching young family members, and Dr. Beverly was impressed with the results. “They gave 100% every single day,” she says. The students quickly learned to ride and began teaching other children to do the same.

A Story of Persistence

It is that sense of “unwavering effort, perseverance, resilience, and grit” that Dr. Beverly captures in her story. “Trying something new was held in high esteem,” she writes in the book, which is filled with positive encouragement for the young reader. Along the way, the reader also has the opportunity to learn more about the unicycle. For example, Dr. Beverly shares the following fun fact. “It takes on average approximately 15 hours to learn to ride a unicycle.”

Perhaps it was always meant for Dr. Beverly, a pediatric dentist, to write a book. She’s been journaling daily since she was eight years old. She began the practice after someone advised her to write about what you love and do it every day. Since then, she’s written countless notes and doodles. When she realized she could impact the next generation with a positive message, she put those thoughts into book form. After a year of working with a publisher and illustrator, her story was complete. With joy, she told the littlest Knights, “I did it!”

A Gift of Writing

Librarian Sara Gomez says author visits are an important component of developing a culture of reading. “Students get the chance to interact with someone that a lot of us think is unreachable,” she says. “It lets kids see this is a real job, and you can pursue this.” In addition, Gomez says author visits traditionally spark discussions about writing, which was the case with Dr. Beverly. She shared her process for writing and photos from her daily journal to give students an idea of what it means to be an author.

At the heart of the presentation was a message for students to “be persistent and keep trying.” Dr. Beverly and Gomez reminded the young students that they too can do whatever they love, even ride a bicycle with one wheel. “If you can ride a bike, you can ride a unicycle,” Dr. Beverly says.

Before she left, Dr. Beverly gifted each student a necklace to wear as a reminder to write or draw daily in a journal. She also gave them the gift of knowing that they are all a great work in progress and that it’s important to be open-minded and approach life with a good attitude.

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Dr. Beverly. 

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