Kumusta! My name is Donna Miguel, and I teach a gamut of classes in the English department: pre-college, college and advanced composition, research writing, technical writing, literature classes, recently an Accelerated 101 pilot, and an Interdisciplinary Class (English and Ethnic and Cultural Studies). My passion for reading started in high school when my mom gave me a romance novel and with a play I read in my AP English course: Sophocles’ Antigone. It was only in the first year of community college, in a writing course taught by my first instructor of color, that I started to understand how reading and writing could become a power tool, especially for people of color. As a Filipina-American born to immigrant parents, my experiences and learned knowledge of diversity/multicultural issues allows me to integrate issues of gender and race inequalities in my writing classes. I’m still continuing to learn more about the resiliency of oppressed groups, issues of privilege and power, and intersectionality, which drives my efforts to also learn best practices that break through barriers students may have in their classes. I hope to continually put my philosophy into action by providing mentorship for underrepresented populations along with collaboration from colleagues in college programs (that assist in their success). In essence, I’m blessed to be in a career that I love, feel passionate about, and with colleagues who are dedicated in providing a holistic environment that puts the entire student at the center of the educational process.
What do I do in my free time? Of course I spend time with my family and friends, and as a new homeowner, seem to be forever organizing the garage and yanking weeds from the yard.