What is your name?

John Podgurski, however I go by Gunnar.

What are your favorite classes?

My favorite classes have been Computer Networks (CS331) & Network Security (CS345). I like them because I am very involved in the hardware industry at my company and I plan to become a network engineer after I finish school.

What is your most satisfying experience as a peer leader?

The best moments for me as a peer leader is seeing students' eyes light up, or in this case being remote hear a tone in their voice when everything clicks on a problem they were struggling with.

What kind of advice would you give to aspiring peer leaders?

I would say you don't have to be perfect to become a peer leader, there is more to peer leading than just good grades, it takes patience and determination. It takes resilience and not being afraid to fail.

Did you have any doubts about being a peer leader and if so what are they?

I had a lot of doubts of if I could carry a group of students through instruction, thankfully I started in prog 1 which I was a lot more comfortable with, however I was lucky to have great peer leaders to work with every semester

How has the peer leader experience shaped you as a person outside of school?

The peer leader experience has taught me a lot of things about patience, and not jumping to conclusions, teamwork and realizing that we are all nodes in a giant machine we are trying to grow. Most importantly it has taught me that no matter what background we come from we all speak the same language and we are all pushing towards the same goals.