Checking in with Ian Kunka ’20

2020 Graduate Ian Kunka stopped by GNS this week, where Head of School Chad Holtum presented him with the Governor General’s Academic Medal. Established in 1873, this medal is awarded to the student graduating with the highest academic average. Ian, who is attending the University of Toronto for Engineering, shared how his post-graduation experience has been going.  “It has been all online, so it was a challenge,” he said. “First I have to adjust to the university and university level, but the first-year office and first-year supports in engineering at UofT were good, so it wasn’t too bad.”  Ian said that having been able to live in residence has helped with his first-year experience, as well as getting to know other students in the same program where they could work on homework together.  “I enjoyed a lot of my classes, and some of them built on what I had already done at GNS. Some were new and some were harder than others,” said Ian. “It was a good time and I enjoyed the content.”  Making the transition from GNS to university, Ian explained, was a bit difficult because his first year is solely online so there were some challenges, but he added that his International Baccalaureate experience was helpful.  “It helped me a lot because I had that adjustment and was able to get used to the high level of work, which was similar to the first semester,” he pointed out.  According to Ian, moving across the country from Victoria to Toronto has been an exciting journey.  “It was really fun getting to explore a much bigger city.” As Ian heads back to the University of Toronto for his second term, he will decide which specific field he will focus on. Asked if he had any advice for this year’s graduating class, he advocated for taking advantage of the opportunities that are provided.  “Even if you don’t think it’s going to be important, you don’t know when something might come back to help,” he said.  Congratulations to Ian, and good luck at the University of Toronto!