George Malak: It's a Small World, After All

Graduate student George Malak (Class of ’99, B.A., Spanish; ’05, M.A., Education) was born in Alexandria, Egypt, but people often assumed he was Hispanic or Latino and would automatically start talking to him in Spanish. Rather than resist it, Malak went with it, becoming fluent in Spanish, then adding French for good measure. He is currently teaching himself Korean and Tagalog.

“When I was in elementary school, the kids assumed I was Hispanic, so I thought it would be good to learn the language,” he says. “I took it for three years in high school, and got my A.A. in Spanish at El Camino College. Now I speak it very well, and when someone comes up and talks to me in Spanish, I respond in Spanish. They ask me where I’m from, and I say, ‘Egipto,’ which means ‘Egypt’ in Spanish. They think I’m kidding. One guy asked me where in Mexico that was.”

Malak, who used to tutor languages at El Camino, is now tutoring students in math at CSUDH’s  Center for Learning and Academic Support Services (CLASS). He encourages his students to challenge themselves in courses that they find difficult.

“I used to have a hard time with writing,” he says. “Students who have a hard time think they can never get it, so I share my experience that I had difficulty with writing and that I worked hard at it and was able to do it. They just have to put forth the effort.”

Malak hopes to inspire students to succeed as he has, despite having Duchenne muscular dystrophy. As a future college counselor, he plans to tell students to stick to their goals.

“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you can’t do it,” he says. “You can do whatever you put your mind to. I would tell students to do their best, and let them know that if I can do it, so can they.”

- Joanie Harmon