Last semester, Ronald Guhl was merely a student and today he is a part of the communications staff. This week, the Xavierite had the chance to sit down with Professor Guhl and interview him about his recent hiring. Mr. Guhl, a student turned professor, went back to school to earn his degree. That degree, and his approachable manner, not only earned him the spot of honorary speaker at his graduation, but also earned him a place here at SXU as a professor.
The professor is not only a dedicated teacher, but also a dedicated mentor. Mr. Guhl is a mentor of six boys at home and when asked about why he did this, he simply said to give back and pay it forward. These boys were his inspiration to coming back to school, according to Mr. Guhl “his boys would come home with unsuccessful days…and no matter how hard I tried to tell them to stick it out and go with the flow, it wasn’t working. So, I said you know what, let me show them how this works. Let me be a living demonstration of how this works”. Mr. Guhl went back to school and was not only at the top of his class, but his natural charisma and life experience made him a natural in the communications program. He achieved great success here at SXU and after giving a speech at graduation, he was hired as a professor in the communications program.
Mr. Guhl went straight from student to professor. This gives him a unique perspective on the student and teacher relationship. Since he was recently behind the desk himself, this affects the way that he teaches. “I’m relatable…meaning that I was a student, not even a year ago and when a student sits in a classroom and I look at them now, I always reflect back to me…and I never wanted a professor that I didn’t like. When it was my turn to be a professor I would be different, I would be fun, exciting, approachable and relatable at the same time”. Mr. Guhl made it his mission to be a professor that a student can come to and “talk to, confide in, and be there for them”. He is a professor that is there for his students and is willing to work with them not over them. His students are individuals to him and not just a number.
Professor Guhl also strives for teaching in a fun and approachable manner. Mr. Guhl states that he “won’t use huge words that they don’t understand… I try to explain things in a way as if they don’t understand what I am talking about.”
He also says that as a teacher it is his job to “adjust to you” and does not believe that it is the student’s job to adjust to the professor. Mr. Guhl understands every struggle that his students go through and even states that he himself went through times of self-doubt.
He says that the only way to truly conquer something is to “dive in head first and sink or swim.”
He states that his job in corporate America and his experience as a hairdresser furthered his communication skills and that his life experiences helped him significantly in his role as a professor rather than as a student.
“Everything in life is about timing and this was my time.”
Mr. Guhl leaped from student to teacher and went from doing homework assignments to creating them. When asked about how to persevere, he simply responded with one word…pray. Pray, believe in yourself, and even though there were days that he wanted to give up, he didn’t because he “didn’t know the outcome would be this.”
“Never give up, stay focused, take a deep breath, walk away, come back…and then try it again”.