One of the biggest concerns to those looking to come to Nauvoo for a semester is the terror of boredom. When the historic sites and shops are closed, when the empty streets lose their charm, what is there for the adventurous student to do in this sleepy little town?
That problem confronted us a few times during the inaugural semester of the Nauvoo Discovery Program (Winter 2024). There’s usually a couple of weeks each year when it gets painfully cold, and walking outside is unthinkable. During those times, the NDP gang had to get creative. Many game nights, activities, and creations resulted, including the critically acclaimed fictional story called The Island of St. Janine.
It began on a dark night, when the fetters of boredom had begun to close on our minds. Tommy Sheeran, Hanieh Malcolm, Mary Roberts, and I sat in the hallway of The Inn at Old Nauvoo. We were talking about everything and nothing, enjoying pleasant company. Gradually, the conversation turned to a question—
“What would happen if the students of the Nauvoo Discovery Program were stranded on a tropical island?”
Oh, it was a lark. The conversation was so enjoyable, that I told my roommate Jackie the next day. So we began writing a book on that very topic. In Jack’s words:
“Writing The Island of St. Janine was a blast. There wasn’t a day where the story was not being worked on. We wrote an outline, and when we wrote the chapters from the outline, we would add more chapters between those chapters, and add some more.”

Our other roommate, Mary, did illustrations. She was really incredible!
Our story began to come to life!

Rife with absurd comedy, inside jokes, and dramatic moments, The Island of St. Janine is a masterpiece, if I do say so myself. We put in QR codes to add mood music to the thing, and then published it in book form, and got copies to everyone who wanted one.

So why am I saying all this? Well, to me, The Island of St. Janine encapsulates the spirit of the Nauvoo Discovery Program. This is a program for students to support their education, yes, but what the Program also does is create memories that will last a lifetime. I helped write a book! I shared it with my best friends and had a blast doing it!
In Nauvoo, fun isn't found, it's made!
Visit The Nauvoo Discovery Program at nauvoodiscovery.com
Nice use of the word “encapsulates.”