Alumni Interview · English ’16
Hannah Cole
From a junior-year scholarship to a Bay Area reading movement serving 4,000 neighbors a year.
Hannah arrived on the Ridge with a suitcase of paperbacks and a work-study assignment in the library basement. Ten years later, she runs Open Chapter, a nonprofit bringing free books and reading circles to community centers across the Bay Area.
The Scholarship That Changed Everything
Halfway through junior year, Hannah nearly transferred to save money. Instead, an alumni-funded Ridge scholarship covered her final three semesters. “A stranger who graduated in 1974 decided my education mattered,” she says. “I have spent every year since trying to deserve it.”
“The Ridge taught me that a book is never just a book. It is an invitation — and invitations are meant to be passed on.”
What Open Chapter Does
- 42 reading circles meeting weekly in libraries, shelters and senior centers.
- 18,000 books recirculated each year through the free-shelf network.
- 300 volunteers — a third of them fellow Ridge alumni.
Advice for the Class of 2026
“Say yes to the unglamorous work. I shelved books for three years before anyone let me run a program — and those shelves taught me everything about what readers actually need. Also: come back for Founders Day. I will be the one with the tote bag full of paperbacks.”
Keep Reading With Hannah
Volunteer for a reading circle or donate books at the Annual Meet-Up.