Author Stacie V. Hutton of Columbus, who received her masters of education degree from Ashland University in 1998, has written a new book, “Shovelful of Sunshine,” which is about a little girl named Meggie Gwinn who has lost her dreams and her coal miner father helps her to get them back. The book has been extremely successful, reaching the top of the Amazon.com book list.
Hutton was born in West Virginia and grew up in a single parent family in the tiny village of Torch, Ohio, located in southeastern Ohio. A first generation college graduate, she went on to attend the master’s of education program at Ashland University and began her career as a teacher. She found a lot of value from her master’s degree at Ashland University, and when writing her book, she referred back to the courses she took with Dr. Jane Pirto, professor of education at Ashland University.
She has published three teacher resource books and earned a teacher-of-the-year nomination.
As a child, she loved creating. She won writing contests and even won an art contest and had art displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Hutton also loved trying to invent things, but most of all she loved books.
The rural area she grew up in did not have a library, but had a book mobile from the Athens County Library that made stops in Torch. Hutton would exit the van with an armful of books.
Hutton now lives in suburban Columbus, Ohio, with her husband and children and serves as trustee on the University of Rio Grande Board of Trustees. More information on Hutton can be found at www.stacievhutton.com.
Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report’s National Universities category for 2013, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.
