Guadalupe Garcia McCall
2017 Graduate, Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Guadalupe Garcia McCall is a published author of young adult fiction and a graduate of the online MFA in Creative Writing program at UTEP.
She was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico and immigrated with her family to the United States when she was six years old. Eagle Pass, Texas, where she grew up, is the setting of much of her writing.
Guadalupe's books are critically acclaimed and have won many awards, and she is described as “… one of the most important writers in Texas and Latinx literature as well as mainstream fiction and poetry” by the chair of the creative writing program at UTEP, Daniel Chacón.
Guadalupe is currently a tenure-track professor at George Fox University. Getting her MFA enabled her to apply for university-level positions and retire from her twenty-year career as a high school teacher in San Antonio. You can learn more about Guadalupe, her work, and the many awards she has received on her website.
Why she enrolled in the program:
I enrolled in the online MFA Creative Writing program because I was a published author who needed to earn a terminal degree in my field in order to be a competitive candidate for a tenure-track position at the university level. I was hoping to get a degree in three or four years and make the move to teaching in higher education.
Her experience with online learning:
This was my first experience as a student in an online program. I earned my BA in Theater Arts in a traditional setting.
My experience with online learning was wonderful. I am a disciplined writer with a busy lifestyle, so being able to sign in and learn from the comfort of my home at night while holding down a full-time position as a high school English teacher by day fit my needs.
On the support she received as an online student:
I felt like my professors were very accessible. They answered emails promptly, returned phone calls, and gave me plenty of feedback on my progress when I needed it. Their lessons were well structured, and I always felt supported in the program, especially while I navigated the journey of creating and defending my thesis.
On whether she would enroll in this program again if she had to do things over:
I would most definitely enroll in this program again. It was a rigorous, life-affirming experience, and I would recommend it to anyone willing to work hard to actualize their dreams.
What she would say to prospective online students:
This program prepared me for a better future. It was instrumental in my development as a candidate for higher education. The MFA in Creative Writing opened doors that would have otherwise been closed to me.