Verbum Dei High School juniors Eduardo Ramirez (above), Kevin Lopez, and Andre Perez read their novel study culminating essays before a crowd of 75 people at the California African-American Museum in Exposition Park, April 28.  Students participated in the presentation in conjunction with The Big Read, a National Endowment for the Arts program that promotes a nationwide reading and dialogue on a specific novel.  Their Eyes Were Watching God by Harlem Renaissance author Zora Neale Hurston is this year’s Big Read selection.  “Found poems,” culled from two chapters of the novel by Verb students, were displayed on the panel behind the speaker.  Photograph by John Stradley, Moderator, The Present Dei.