Members of a composition committee tell the story of implementing a first-year read program within first-year composition courses at a Western New England residential university. Presenters will discuss the institution’s motivations for implementing the program and highlight some of the benefits and challenges. Drawing from: instructor reflections; formal and informal correspondence among faculty, staff and students; student texts; and contextualizing our work within current research about first-year read programs, presenters will ultimately ask participants to consider the local context at their school and the benefits and drawbacks of a first-year read housed in composition or another discipline.