Award-winning author and longstanding English professor at Glendale Community College, Angela Morales, has dedicated more than two decades to helping her students discover their voices as writers—and as people.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from UC Davis and a Master of Fine Arts degree through the University of Iowa’s nonfiction writing program.
Since 2003, Morales has taught a range of English courses at GCC, including English 101 and creative writing. A fellow Glendale College professor shared about her relationship with Morales, not only as a colleague, but as a friend. “I’ve known Angela for 20 years. We met at GCC when we were both relatively new here, so together we muddled our way through the process of becoming seasoned instructors and knowledgeable members of the GCC community. Angela is someone I go to when I need perspective about anything—teaching, parenting, even home improvement,” said English instructor Francien Rohrbacher. “I’ve had the privilege of visiting her classes several times and each time I’m in her class, I wish I could have her as an instructor. She encourages thoughtful discussion, gives helpful feedback, and puts students at ease. Any student at GCC would be lucky to have her as an instructor.”
In 2016, she published a collection of essays in the form of a book called The Girls in My Town, which won a PEN Center USA Literary Award, acknowledging it as the best essay collection of that year. “I was pretty proud of that, because when I wrote it, I was teaching full time—I still am, and it was really hard to make the time to do it, so the fact that I finished it was an accomplishment, the fact that I published it was an accomplishment, but then the fact that I got an award too was like oh thank God!” Morales said on the award. She is presently working on a second collection of essays.
At GCC, Morales’ primary goal is to provide her students with the highest quality education that she can offer. “Around the college, I’m not super involved in committee work. I’ve done a few projects over the years, but I want all my time to go into the classroom and into teaching prep,” she explained.
She understands that every class she teaches will be unique and that separate groups of students will respond positively to different things. As such, Morales makes a concentrated effort to tailor her classes to the specific needs of her students, to give them the best possible opportunity to succeed. “I try to understand where students are coming from and to match my audience. Every class is different, and when I enter a classroom, I try to get to know them very quickly and assess what kind of assignments will be best for this particular group. Sometimes I’ll walk into a classroom with a plan and then I’ll realize that the plan might not go over very well with this group, so I’ll try to quickly adjust to what I’m seeing; I like to read the room,” said Morales.
One of her former students summarized the profound impact that her supportive approach to education had on him. “Professor Morales’ class has been life-changing for me. I still remember our first writing assignment and how unsure I felt about my abilities. When I walked into her office, she smiled and said, “You are a good writer.” That sentence changed everything for me. It was a moment of affirmation I will carry with me always. She is the kind of educator who doesn’t just teach —she inspires and believes in her students even before they believe in themselves. Honestly, I could write essays about how much I love Professor Morales and how much she helped me during my first year in a writing class. Even though I’ve already completed her wonderful English 101 course, I still keep in touch with her and often write to her about my progress. She’s the kindest person, and I’ll always remember my first English professor—the one who made me believe I could make it,” said A.S., an English major.
Morales hopes that her classes will inspire students to establish a deeper appreciation for writing—and for their own individual voices. “I want my students to have a spark of love for writing, or a new curiosity,” she said. “I want them to start appreciating their own voice as a writer, so that they can realize that they have worthwhile and unique stories to tell. I just want them to see that writing is a beautiful thing and that they can do it too.”
Lucas Lignini can be reached at [email protected].