Jane Jeong Trenka ’95: A journey in words
by Judy Petree

An accomplished musician and soon-to-be published book author, Jane Jeong Trenka says she has been very "lucky."

Trenka graduated magna cum laude in 1995 with degrees in music performance and English. Her first "real job" came about by a suggestion from Jill Dawe, Augsburg assistant professor of music, that she volunteer at The Schubert Club. Dawe's suggestion led to a job at which she stayed for five years. While at The Schubert Club, Trenka directed a music program, Musicapolis, which reduced the cost of music lessons for children who couldn't otherwise afford them. She now teaches private piano lessons out of her home.

A quirk of fate and a trip to a plumbing store eventually led to the publication of her first book, due out this fall. What do plumbing and writing have to do with each other? Well, the plumbing store was across from The Loft Literary Center, and since she was already in the neighborhood, she decided to make a trip across the street.

While there, she picked up information about The Loft Creative Nonfiction Mentorship Award and decided to send in a manuscript. Trenka was one of five chosen for this award, which lent her the opportunity to work with authors Louise Rafkin and Aram Saroyan, both out of California.

"I loved writing while I was at Augsburg, but had no idea I was a writer," Trenka said. After winning the award, she discovered she could indeed write. Since then she has also been awarded a Jerome Travel and Study Grant, a Blacklock Nature Sanctuary Fellowship, a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship, a fellowship from SASE: The Write Place, and an Honorable Mention for the Water~Stone 2002 Brenda Ueland Prose Prize.

Trenka said she feels kind of "guilty" that it has come so easy. "Some people slave at their writing for years before they publish, but I had luck. I'm glad people are interested in what I have to say."

The Language of Blood: A Memoir will be available this fall from Borealis Books. It is a personal coming-of-age story of her search for identity, which takes her on a journey from Minnesota to Korea and back. Included in her book are some of her experiences at Augsburg.

Trenka said Augsburg gave her the feeling of freedom to do whatever she wanted. It gave her a good liberal education base, which has allowed her to pursue music as well as a literary career, and even beyond that, if she chooses.

She came to Augsburg on a President's Scholarship. "Without that scholarship, I never would have been able to attend Augsburg." But what she liked was the urban setting. She said she was so excited when she tasted her first Korean food—growing up in a small, northern Minnesota town, ethnic restaurants were few and far between.

"I liked the slice of urban life where there is a diversity of people. In this setting I was able to find out who I really was." While at Augsburg, Trenka said she made "terrific friends," and the faculty were so giving. She got a sense that she could try whatever she wanted. "John [Mitchell, associate professor of English] was fantastic. He would hang out with students at this little coffee place and talk to us. It was a blessed time." She said it reminded her of "hang-out places" you always hear about back in the ’60s. "It was like a little bubble in time at Augsburg."

What's next for Trenka? She is working on writing a series of children's books on home repair with a co-writer who is a builder. Her books will focus not only on home repairs, but diversity. "It's rare to see interracial families depicted in children's books," Trenka said with a twinkling in her eye, "but you'll see them in mine."

—Judy Petree is media relations manager in the Office of Public Relations and Communication.