TUNEK ASKS “WHAT IF” WHEN HE ATTEMPTS A PROJECT

“What if,” is one of Gerson Tunek’s favorite phrases; especially when it comes to drawing something for his drafting class at the South Baldwin Center for Technology.

“Once I finish my last drafting course, next semester, I’ll be eligible to obtain my drafting certificate,” he said. “The certificate will certify me as a draftsman, which is something that will come in handy when I begin to study engineering.”

Tunek, who is a senior at Robertsdale High, lives in Rosinton with his mom, Lucy, and dad, Francisco.

“What drew me to engineering, no pun intended, is that I enjoy looking at the big picture when I am assigned a project,” he said. “I love being able to figure out ways of making my project better.”

A case in point was Tunek’s design of a new type of car bumper.

“I don’t know if it would work in reality,” he said, “but it did on all of the computer models that we built. I don’t know if it would be worth applying for a patent, but you never know.”

In addition to his drafting class at the SBCT Tunuek is also a student at RHS, where he maintains a 3.8 grade point average.

“I’m still waiting on the results from the ACT that I took a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “Most schools decide how much in the way of scholarships they’ll give you based on how well you score.”

Tunek said he intended to go to Fairhope High during first block of the second semester in order to study in the engineering program there.

“Right now I’m considering either Auburn or a university in Walla Walla, Washington,” he said. “One of my teachers mentioned that some of the finest and most expensive engineering universities are the service academies.”

Not only are the engineering programs top-notch, but for a commitment of so many years Tunek can graduate and not owe any money for college loans.

At RHS Tunek is president of the Students Against Destructive Decisions in addition to playing on the soccer team.

“Last year I played on the tennis team, but this year I think I’ll stick with soccer,” he said. “In fact, I need to start running in order to get in shape for soccer season, which is right around the corner. My mom bought me one of those parachutes that you attach to your back and then run sprints. By the sixth sprint my muscles were on fire, but I’m determined to stick with it.”

Outside of RHS Tunek is active with his church youth group.

“The youth group is sort of like a co-ed version of the Boy Scouts,” he said, “as we do all kinds of things together.”

In addition to his youth group Tunek has taken various martial arts, rising all the way up to the black belt level over the years.

“I enjoy it,” he said, “as it not only increases your reflex time, but helps you to concentrate and focus on what you are doing. My father is a black belt as well, but when we are sparing he can take me down in a heartbeat.”

His main hobby is building model cars and such.

“When I work on them I’m always trying to second guess the automotive designer who was responsible for the original model,” he said. “I keep asking myself, ‘what if’ he had done it this way or that. I don’t know that I would want to be an automotive designer, but I do enjoy the concept of building things, or at least drafting the prints of how I feel it should be.”

One of the courses Tunek would like to take is patent law.

“One of these days I may design something that no one else has,” he said. “If it works, meets a need from the consumers, and is practical to manufacture then I might want to patent it before anyone else comes along with a similar idea. Such patents can be worth a lot of money in royalties if it goes into production.”

Tunek said he enjoyed going to the beach with his friends, getting involved with various water sports, and during the winter going out West to snowboard.

“I would love to land an internship with an engineering firm this summer,” he said, “as the more contacts you can make in this field, the better.”