Hello, everyone, and welcome to Pomona College. My name is Justin Gutzwa, and I’m a rising senior at Pomona. I’m originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, and I am an Anthropology major with a minor in Politics. When I’m not giving tours, I’m a senior interviewer in the Pomona Office of Admissions over the summer, an intern during the school year, involved in several clubs, a department liaison, and a research assistant. My sophomore year, I was a sponsor in Pomona’s sponsor group program, and I also was on the sponsor selection committee one year.
For five semesters and one forthcoming summer, this has pretty much been how I’ve greeted people who visit Pomona. Obviously, there were variants over the years – I wasn’t always an Anthropology major (who really is when they come here?), I wasn’t always a senior interviewer, and I wasn’t always involved in Claremont Colleges Against Cancer or the Five College Peace and Justice Coalition. Truth be told, I probably should have introduced myself during my freshman year as such:
Hello! Welcome to Pomona. My name is Justin, and I am a freshman here. I have no clue what the hell I want to do with my life, but I know that I care about people. A lot. That’s why I want to be a sponsor next year! And that’s why I like being a tour guide! Because I care. About you! A lot.
But 6 semesters later, and this is where I’m at. And looking back at my experiences at Pomona, I can safely say that they were nothing short of exciting. I had some ups, I had some downs, and I had a few roundabouts and detours and roadblocks along the way, too, but at the end of the day, my experience here has been one that has helped shape me into the person I am today.
Seeing as a large part of my Pomona experience has been leading tours, they’re pretty much what I know best. And since I can’t title this blog “Confessions of a Senior Interviewer” where I espouse my frustrations regarding poorly conducted interviews and the tribulations of my training due to confidentiality agreements, I thought it would be interesting to take you all on a tour of my own.
For those of you who have been to Pomona before, you might recognize the theme of this blog being one which adheres to the Pomona route. Beyond the required information we have to tell you and time constraints us tour guides have, we all have a lot of stories we’d love to share about our experiences at each of these buildings or departments or dorms. So whether or not you’ve been on the official campus tour, and whether or not it was led by me, come read this for the real scoop: Justin’s (Unofficial) Tour of Pomona College: A Saga Told Through Words, Thoughtfully Placed Pictures, and Memorable Experiences.
Before we start, I want to ask that you please tell me if I’m going to walk into anything on this tour. I’m going to be walking backwards down memory lane (bad puns and jokes are to be expected), and as such, if I’m about to get hit by a car or fall down a flight of stairs, chances are I know already. But, as always, if you could keep on the lookout for me, that’d be greatly appreciated.
Until next time,
Justin