Nate Gong ’01

Nate Gong, who teaches 11th grade Paideia and Honors U.S. History, came back to Tech as a teacher in 2007 after doing his student teaching here under his old Paideia teachers, Ms. Wolfe and Ms. Joe.

“My fondest memories of Tech are of the Paideia Program and the Tech jazz band. Paideia shaped my years at Tech by instilling in me a strong sense of community. Many of my lifelong friends are my Paideia classmates. We were building an intellectual community, not by competing, but by trying to better one another. I am a working example of what can happen with Tech kids. I have literally sat in that chair! As a student here, I got to understand the variety of ways people learn, live, cope, struggle, and bring beauty to their lives. Being back here as a teacher, I am learning from my old teachers a second time. What I do here goes through Tech out into the community. We are releasing young scholars, dancers, and artists back into our own community.”