Morningside professor speaks to students about his experiences with crime before starting university’s criminal justice program.
First in public law enforcement, then a correctional officer, Professor John Gonsler has experienced it all.
Professor Gonsler started out in public law enforcement but came to realize it wasn’t his jam. Gonsler stated, “I didn’t like the politics and the corrupt system of cops.” He also talked about how dirty some of the cops were. “Not all were bad though, there were some good cops.” Gonsler added.
Soon after leaving the law enforcement, he became a correctional officer at a medium security prison in Indiana. Gonsler chuckled and said, “I worked in corrections for 6 months but could write a book.” Following with many stories of his time as a correctional officer.
One of the stories being about an inmate collecting dead birds. Several different prisoners came up to Gonsler complaining about the hot pot water tasting revolting. After assessing the situation Gonsler discovered that there were in fact dead birds in the hot pot. When Gonsler questioned who’s birds were in the hot pot, an inmate came forward. The inmate stated that “the birds fell on the floor so he needed to give them a bath.” Gonsler then checked the prisoners belongings and found a whole ‘family’ of dead birds.
Gonsler encountered many things dealing with crime that helped him transition into his next profession. Gonler was unsure of what he exactly wanted to do but had an idea of where he lacked interest.
This brought him to teaching.
After applying to 33 different schools, he felt as if Morningside University was where he was meant to be. Morningside peaked his interest because of starting their criminal justice program. Gonsler added “It wasn’t going to be a lot of sheriff’s department politics.” as he had previously experienced.
Professor John Gonsler’s favorite part is teaching the introduction class because the students seem the most eager to learn. Gonsler loves answering interesting questions that the new students may have.