Lauren Barnes

Biography

Growing up in a small, west Texas town, I was always fascinated by the wider world and cultures I had no access to around me. This led me to pursue international studies at Baylor University with minors in literature and economics. My goal has always been to interrogate identity and culture, essentially answering the question “Who are we and why?” My curiosity led me to apply for a Fulbright to Taiwan, where I spent two years teaching English, a multicultural class and home economics to third through eighth-grade students while studying Mandarin (對啊!我會說中文).

Upon completing my Fulbright grant, I returned to the United States, and I studied East Asian Studies at Stanford University. My master’s studies were fully funded and supported by the
Federal Language and Area Studies scholarship, which allowed me to delve deeper into literature and history while sharpening my Mandarin skills. Since graduating, I have fallen in love
with the Bay’s multicultural environment.

Words have been a source of inspiration and empowerment for me my whole life from my time in Texas to my time in Taiwan. I hope I can impart this love of language to my students and
endow them with the courage and confidence to express themselves through the written word. When not pouring over a book, I love to crochet, bake, and play Zelda on my Switch.