Mini-Issue Guest Editor
This 2026 Cardinal Arts Journal "What Community College Means to Me" mini issue has been crafted by GSCC's own Rachel Houghton, former GSCC student who is now a GSCC English Instructor, as well as a local writer.
Rachel Houghton
Rachel Houghton spent the first twenty-eight years of her life in and around the Twin Cities of Minnesota. After leaving Minnesota, she and her Kiwi husband, Nigel, spent fourteen years living and traveling in two different house buses across New Zealand and the United States. In 2016, they relocated to Alabama, sold the buses, and bought a traditional house near Noccalula Falls. After arriving in Alabama, Rachel returned to school and earned an Associates degree from Gadsden State Community College before earning a Masters in English from the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
Rachel currently works as an English instructor at Gadsden State. Her writing inspiration comes from the people she’s met, the places she’s been, the gorgeous world around her, and the adventures yet to be discovered. Her work can be found in Aura, the Vulcan Historical Review, The Great Lakes Review, and most recently, in The Southern Poetry Anthology. She currently serves as the Fiction Editor for the Cardinal Arts Journal.
About the Cardinal Arts Journal
Welcome to Cardinal Arts Journal!
Cover photos: Gadsden State's PR Department. (G Day 2026.)
NAVIGATE by clicking links at top of screen.
MORE FUN: Images throughout the Cardinal Arts Journal are linked to even more content for readers to explore. See how many links you can find by clicking on the images in this issue.
A project of the Division of Languages and Humanities
Gadsden State Community College
Editor in Chief: Tabitha Bozeman
Fiction Editor: Rachel Houghton
Faculty Editor: David Murdock
Art Editor: Hilary Blackwood
Staff Editors: Tina Pendley
Community Editors: Carol Roark Wright & Katie Bohannon