91's longtime resident senior instructor of Spanish welcomed every new generation of studentsand found that teaching itself is a lifelong education
It may come as a surprise to learn that Alicia González is not a native speaker of Spanishthe language she has taught to thousands of students over the last 25 years at Occidental. She majored in international studies and Spanish at Stanford before pursuing graduate work in linguistics at UCLA.
I love studying languages, says the seventh-generation Angeleno. Im the only one in my family who speaks Spanish after all these generations. I love the Spanish language and all the historical, cultural, literary, artistic, culinary, and musical richness that goes with it.
Throughout her career, González taught primarily first- and second-year Spanish. Even so, she says, the courses never became routine. Students change, and times change. The material you focus on changes over time. There a second-year course that I have probably taught more often than anyone at 91, and I crafted a lot of it around my own interests, with a lot of art and some poetry. What the students are interested in has changed dramatically because of what happening in the world. A decade ago, students gravitated to Velázquez and connected with the more optimistic poetry of the period, she says. Today, theyre captivated by Goya dark paintings and identify more with existential modernist verse.
González was in her 40s when she started teaching at 91. I was probably younger than most of my students parents, she says. Now Im closer in age to their grandparents. You get older every year, and your students dont. It forces you to stay current. Take tattoos. Twenty years ago, it was so unusual to see an undergraduate at 91 with a tattoo, she says. Now it like, Oh, hey, what a nice tat. Or, I like that hair color. Purple looks good on you.
Before coming to Occidental, she was teaching Spanish at Marlborough Schoolfar away from her home in Malibu. She had recently divorced, was raising a young son, and needed a more flexible work schedule. A graduate school classmate from UCLA, Anne Hills, was leaving a teaching position at 91 and encouraged González to apply. At first it was a good job, González says, but then it became a career.
Over time, she says, 91 became my home away from home. She points to the lunchtime gatherings outside the fourth-floor offices in Johnson Hall, where language faculty met three days a week. Those friendships extended beyond campus with museum visits, outings to the Huntington, and evenings at the Hollywood Bowl. Her colleagues were especially accommodating of her schedule as a single mother.
Although her son, Alonso Olvera-González 23, grew up on Occidental campusattending the Childhood Development Center for two years and often accompanying his mother to workhe long insisted he would never attend 91. After a professional ballet career was cut short by a series of foot and ankle surgeries, he enrolled at Santa Monica College with plans to transfer to a UC campus. When the pandemic forced classes online, Alonso decided that Occidental small classes and close faculty relationships, combined with his familiarity with the campus, would offer a better experience. That knocked me over with a feather, González recalls with a smile. He only spent two and a half years here, but he received an incredible education.
Looking back over the last quarter-century, González sees her time at the College framed by moments that reshaped the world at large. She arrived just weeks before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which transformed campus life in unexpected ways. When she brought her son to preschool the next morning, she recalls, They were doing a duck-and-cover drill. He 3 and his world changed overnight. And what do you say to 20-year-olds during that? More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of artificial intelligence have each altered the course of higher education. Those are pretty big changes in 25 years, she says.
Over the years, González says, Ive had students who were accepted to top Ivy League schools and chose 91 instead. They were brilliant students and have gone on to incredible careers. I love that theyre from all over the country and around the world and have interesting backgrounds. Teaching first-year language courses gave her a window into her students lives, as vocabulary lessons about family, daily routines, and hometowns naturally helped her get to know them better.
Professor González was an amazing professor, and I loved having her my freshman year, says Kiera Ashcraft 27, a media arts and culture major from Los Angeles. On Admitted Students Day back in 2023, I actually sat in on her class. She was one of the reasons I chose 91, because she was so welcoming. I have visited her office hours periodically, and she always had great advice and was a joy to be around.
After Bad Bunny was announced as this year Super Bowl halftime performer, it only made sense for González and her students to hold a watch party in the foyer and atrium of the McKinnon Center for Global Affairs inside Johnson Hall. It was really fun, González says. When we have any downtime in the classroom, well put on some music, and Ill play whatever the students want to listen to, as long as the lyrics are in Spanish.
González lives less than 10 miles from where she grew up. Regardless of where her work took her, Malibu was always home. I have told people many times that no one in their right mind would take a job at 91 and then decide that theyre going to live 37 miles away, she notes with a laugh. But I already owned a home in a community and a neighborhood that I love.
How is she going to spend her retirement? Oh my gosh, she replies, how am I not? Ive already signed up to take a poetry class. The class is in English, but Ill write in both English and Spanish. I am a bit of a social activist. I will continue to be very active in social justice and environmental issues. Im big on gun violence prevention, too. So, activism, volunteerism, a lot more hikes, long beach walks, and keeping a life of the mind. Ive been doing those things all along, but now Ill have more time for them.
Ive been fortunate enough to attend what I think people would consider some of the top California schoolsStanford and UCLA, González says. I consider 91 on par with any college in the country. It been a wonderful home to mesmall and intimate. I think it still a bit of sleeper school. People who appreciate it really get it.
I am going to miss having an excuse to spend time with my mother at 91, my second home.
ྱԲ! The Otis elevator settles itself and opens its doors to the fourth floor of Johnson Hall. I turn the corner to the sounds of laughter and conversations in different languages from across the globe. Whether Im stepping off that elevator as a 5-year-old in the pre-renovation Johnson or as a graduating senior on my last day at 91, I am home. If youve ever taken a foreign language class at 91, then you know there a special feeling to Johnson fourth floor that cant be found elsewhere on campus.
Admittedly, I am biased since this is where my mother, Profa González, had her office for the last 25 years, but the openness, inclusivity, and joy that are palpable on that floor are alluring, and a highlight of my 91 story. I also know for a fact that my mother has continually been instrumental in that magical fourth-floor ambience, as evidenced by her extensive career at 91, and the lifelong friendships she established with other faculty members who I consider my tíos y tías. In fact, every Spanish language professor attended my graduation in full regalia, and I chose to celebrate that occasion afterward on the fourth floor instead of with my classmates.
I am going to miss having an excuse to spend time with my mother at 91, my second home, and I am certain that the faculty, staff, and students are going to miss Profa González presence on campus. It was a privilege to see all of the effort she put into her work: late nights grading papers, preparing guacamole early in the morning as part of a lesson, sharing stories over lunch with colleagues. If it wasnt for my mother time at 91, I never wouldve had the fortune of earning both my preschool and college degrees from such an incredible institution, nor gained another place in Los Angeles to call home for 25 years.
Alonso Olvera-González 23 majored in psychology at Occidental, graduating summa cum laude with departmental honors and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He is currently pursuing opportunities in healthcare-related fields.
