Hi everyone, my name is Lulu and I'm a first year MFA student in the Nonfiction Writing Program. I have a background in environmental science and before coming to Iowa was working for a software company in Silicon Valley. I've also been a goat farmer, a private chef, and a soccer referee.

I'm currently reading An American Childhood by Annie Dillard and working on an essay about a small California city called Jurupa Valley. Many of my recent writing projects have been centered on California (where I grew up), especially in light of the recent string of natural disasters there.

When I'm not studying or teaching, I love to play with my two pet rats, write letters (my 94 year old grandma is my best pen pal), and explore my neighborhood in Iowa City. Over the break I went back to California to spend time with my family and then spent a week with friends in Madison, Wisconsin eating pastries and complaining about the cold.

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