Biography

Faten Morris

As a child, I did a study abroad program in England. This trip triggered my interest in comparative studies and in particular writing. I did both my undergraduate and graduate degrees in English and Comparative Literature at the American University in Cairo.

I started my professional career in the business world. I worked for an airline company for six years and did a lot of traveling to Europe, North America and Asia. I, then, moved to Kuwait with my husband and worked for the South Korean Embassy as a political and economic analyst. Three years later, we moved to Dubai where I worked for Standard Chartered Bank on a project investigating fraud. I eventually moved to academia and worked for the Center for American Education. I taught writing courses and literature. In addition to teaching, I became the Dean of Transfer Programs and Degrees. I worked and taught at the Center for six years. Then we moved again, this time to Central Florida where I worked for UCF and then found my permanent home at Polk Community College.

I wrote a number of study-guides, two of them are on
writing skills. These are posted on my web page at http://www.geocities.com/fatenm2001
I am interested in the role of technology in enhancing the teaching of writing skills and literature. I am currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program on Texts and Technology at the University of Central Florida.

I am married and I have two daughters, one is seventeen and one is four. My elder daughter, Sara is a student at the University of Central Florida and Yasmine is in pre-K. It is fun to watch a teenager and a toddler learning to communicate against all odds. No wonder I enjoy teaching communication. They had their first fight when Yasmine was nine months.

Because of the lack of resources in the Middle East when it comes to teaching an American curriculum particularly in literature, I relied heavily on the net and electronic resources to enhance my teaching. I took a course in web page designing with my students and built my own web page at www.fatenm2001.geocities.com. I enjoy learning and teaching on the web because of the incredible interdisciplinary information it can bring together. I am enrolled in a PhD program on Texts and Technology at the University of Central Florida. Unfortunately, it is still not an online program.

I am married and I have two daughters, one is eighteen and one is five. My elder daughter, Sara is an honors student in Burnett College, UCF and Jasmine is in pre-K. It is fun to watch a teenager and a toddler learning to communicate against all odds. No wonder I enjoy teaching communication and literature. They had their first fight when Yasmine was nine months.

I love Jesus. I am a coptic Christian which means that I can trace my ancestors to the ancient Egyptians and the Greeks. I also love gardening, cooking, literature, dark coffee, chocolate and many other things.