Yemi Oyefuwa

Back in London the young Yemi Oyefuwa (don't worry no one knows how to pronounce her name on the first try, but you'll get used to it) would spend a Saturday morning, or 52, practicing her singing, dancing and acting. She would jump up onto that stage in East Dulwich amongst the Dorothy's, Maria's, Roxie's and Adelaide's and put her heart and soul into being, well, the bit part. But what a fantastic bit part she would make; her chorus work paid off when she was accepted into London's National Youth Music Theatre, where she performed in their National Charity Gala under the musical genius Richard Stilgoe – she still gets emails from them to this day.

As many a famous author will tell you, just putting pen to paper is the best way to hone your craft, it doesn't matter what comes out of that pen of yours, as long as your every waking thought is reflected in what you write. So at the tender age of twelve, Yemi started to write fanfiction. Not the most subtle of stories and most of the twists and turns were taken straight from the weirdest corners of her mind, but boy did her story get shared around the school bus. And not to laugh at, oh no, but to discuss the sex scenes; and to find out what brilliant adventure and drama would happened to Y/N that week.

When Yemi realised her sudden growth would hinder all her dreams of being a famous ballerina or a famous actress (or are we all actors now?), Yemi packed her bags at the age of 17 and accepted a basketball scholarship at The University of Maryland – a sport she had then, only been playing for about a year. She is now a 2012 graduate from the University of Maryland, College Park with a degree in the great English Literature. She is a 3V letterman for UMD, having representing their women's basketball team while studying. She has also represented her country, Great Britain, by playing on the U20, U21 and the Senior Women's basketball team.

Now focusing on her writing, especially her poetry, Yemi is looking forward to continuing her writing career at LIU.