FARMVILLE – Ilsa Loeser joined The Farmville Herald staff Monday, September 10, as the Cumberland County reporter.

A native of Rice, Loeser was home-schooled by her parents, Helmut and Janet Loeser. Loeser graduated summa cum laude from Longwood University last May with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Loeser is particularly interested in questions of knowledge, faith and community. During her last semester at Longwood, she presented research for a panel discussion on women writers and the politics of gender. Her work focused on the viewpoint and portrayal of Flannery O'Connor as a southern female author.

Loeser is very excited about her new position at The Herald. She says, “I have lived many places since graduating from high school, but Farmville is unique. It offers both a small town atmosphere in a rural setting and the intellectual diversity provided by two centers of higher learning. I am honored to be able to stay in Farmville and continue to grow closer to my hometown while still doing what I love.”

As an active member of Johns Memorial Church, Loeser enjoys the community of fellow doubters and followers with whom she is able to explore questions of faith. When Loeser is not enthusiastically discussing philosophy or theology, she enjoys cooking, writing poetry and watching movies.

Her curiosity and enthusiasm have led her to undertake such adventures as working in Haiti for a month, teaching troubled children for a year and living as a homeless person on the streets of Washington, DC, for 48 hours.

Last year, in an effort to provide a social and creative outlet for herself and other likeminded Farmville residents, Loeser establish the Speakeasy at The Bakery, a monthly open mic where local creative writers came to share their homebrewed writing with a friendly audience over a glass of imported wine or beer.