From missionary work in Taiwan to working in the metal industry, Mr. Gowman brings a wide breadth of experience to his teaching career at University of Detroit Jesuit High School. He’s an ordained minister with three master’s degrees. WOW! But how did he end up at The High?
Mr. Gowman was born in Detroit and grew up in West Bloomfield. In high school, he loved sports playing basketball, baseball, football, and wrestling. After high school, he attended The University of Michigan for his B.S. in Chemistry. It was there that he met “the biggest blessing in my life… my wife Kristen.” Following U of M, he went to Western Theological Seminary, earning his Master of Divinity, allowing him to become a pastor. Mr. Gowman then went to Calvin Theological Seminary for a Master’s in Historical Theology.
That’s when Mr. Gowman realized his true calling: teaching. After finding his passion and studying for so long, Mr. Gowman wanted to help others find theirs. He said, “What I really enjoy about teaching is helping people discover what they’re passionate about and giving them the tools to pursue it.” Pursuing his dream, he went to Shiyan, China to teach English to Chinese students. Even though he wasn’t allowed to talk about Jesus explicitly there, he still shared his faith with many. His faith was still central to his life even though his vocation shifted. “We’re missionaries wherever we go” he explained.
He then moved back to America to work in the metalworking chemical industry for two years. Ever since then, he has worked as a consultant all around the industry. But the call to teach was too strong for Mr. Gowman. He went to Taiwan to teach at Tam Kang High School, a Presbyterian missionary school. After this, he pastored a church in New York; the Reformed Dutch Church of Claverack. Then he earned a Master’s of English Sign Language from Eastern Michigan University and pastored for a church in Livonia. He could not help but follow the call to teach others and spread his faith.
After all this, Mr. Gowman finally found himself as a teacher at UDJ. If you ask him what he teaches, he’ll respond, “I teach students.” If you ask him what he teaches them about, he says, “life.” He is so passionate about teaching that it doesn’t feel like a job anymore. He said, “I’m going to teach as hard as I can as long as I can… as long as I am needed.”
Despite being so well-read and well-traveled, Mr. Gowman is still an extremely humble person. He asked, “Why would I have pride in what I know?” He has “been blessed by so many great teachers and mentors. Everything I have learned has been by listening to something someone else has told me or by learning from the many mistakes I have made.” He always has a reason to be happy, because “God is good all the time, and God has blessed me.” His humility is present in every aspect of his life, as he continues to follow his passions and teaches others to follow theirs.