Lulu is a retired family law attorney, certified Buddhist chaplain, and a published poet who has traveled extensively. She is also the President of the Yale Club of Sacramento. Lulu is grateful for the many blessings in her life, including her adored and adoring husband, Roger, and their sweet rescue doggie, Oscar.
Below she shares her favorite places around campus and New Haven and how the friends she made at Yale have turned into life-long friendships.
Why Yale?
My older sister (Trumbull 1986) went to Yale so I heard about her great experiences, including taking a class in Women’s Study with Jodie Foster. In researching colleges, I was drawn to the Yale mission to serve. We are privileged to be able to attend Yale so it’s our duty to give back to society and make the world a better place for all of us, not just the privileged few.
What is your most enduring memory of your time at Yale?
The friendships formed at Yale. I keep in touch with a group of dear friends from the Class of 1990 who celebrate and grieve together. I lost my mother to suicide at age 16 so frosh year was tough. I remember many nights studying in the weenie bin, convinced I would be found out as a fraud who couldn’t keep up with all my multi-talented, super smart, perfect pitch, piano prodigy fellow students. I remember many late-night trips to Wawa’s for sandwiches and pizza at Yorkside with other weenie bin occupants.
If you could relive your time at Yale, what would you do differently?
I would have played more. Went on hikes to East Rock. Spent the weekend in NYC to see stand-up comedy at Gotham. I kept my nose to the grindstone and missed many opportunities to sunbathe on the lawns of CCL. I wish I had learned to play hacky sack!
What would you do exactly the same?
Hang out with my posse – Tim, Dave, Eugene, Leah, Yale (really, that’s his name!), Hiro, Laurie, Bryony, Tara, Lara…
What is your favorite place in New Haven, past or present?
Claire’s and the New Haven Green. I can still taste Claire’s carrot cake with what seems like a cup of frosting on every slice. Good times.
What is your favorite spot on campus?
The stacks in Sterling.
What's your favorite pizza place in New Haven?
Yorkside.
Who is another Yalie who inspires you? Why?
Dr. Timothy Quan, my cousin who I discovered at PROP in our first year. He had also lost his mother a year before college. We bonded over our dead mothers (who had been first cousins). He is my lifeline. We know we will always be there for each other. Plus, Tim is my partner in crime and fun.
What have you gained from your alumni engagement with Yale?
For at least a decade I was an alum interviewer. I was in Napa and loved meeting every valedictorian of Napa HS, Justin Sienna (private school), Sonoma Valley HS, and Santa Rosa HS. I have no children so the applicants gave me a connection to their generation.
