MFA graduate living her dream

McNeese State University graduate Jenn Alandy Trahan has been awarded the Jones Lectureship in Fiction, a twoyear teaching fellowship, at Stanford University.

Trahan graduated from Mc-Neese’s Master of Fine Arts in creative writing program in 2015. She is the third McNeese MFA graduate to receive the fellowship.

“I’ll be teaching at my dream institution, surrounded by dream colleagues, and I’ll have the much-needed time to finish my first book as a Stanford faculty member,” she said.

“It’s a dream of mine to teach at the collegiate level. I aspire to be part of a group that honors the power of shared learning and thrives on bringing different people together in pursuit of a common goal.”

Trahan was initially attracted to McNeese’s program because of the full funding available to its MFA students and because of its proximity to the New Orleans Saints.

“I remember watching You-Tube videos of fans in bars cheering on Tracy Porter’s interception,” she said. “And I thought, ‘Wow, I need to be a part of that culture.’ ”

At McNeese, Trahan taught 10 courses over six semesters, and she said the experience helped her realize that she wanted a career teaching at the collegiate level. She said McNeese is a good place to pursue an MFA.

“Being in Louisiana truly inspired my work. I came into my own as a writer in Lake Charles,” Trahan said.

“If you can go write for two to three years in a place where no one cares that you write or thinks it’s cool, like Lake Charles, then you’ve got the skin to write. When you strip everything away, writing is ultimately a solitary, lonely endeavor, which is why you need the right place around you.”

Excerpts from Trahan’s upcoming novel will be published in September’s issue of Harper’s Magazine, available on newsstands in mid-August.