About Güner

Güner is originally from outside of Sivas and grew up in a working class family. He came to the US after winning a scholarship to study high school in the US. He originally came to New York for his education. Güner came to the PNW after transferring to the University of Oregon after 3 semesters at East Lansing University in Michigan studying English language. Following his BA degree, he went to Wisconsin-Madison for his MA degree. At Wisconsin-Madison he met his wife Melisa and they had 2 weddings – one in the US and one in Turkey. Güner and his wife came to Seattle because he got a job at Boeing. When they came to Seattle, they joined the Turkish American Community of Washington (TACAWA). He enjoyed the folk dancing events in the association. TACAWA helped build a sense of community for himself and his bicultural family. Güner identifies as semi-religious and has maintained his identity as a Muslim here in the United States. He believes there are blended values in being Turkish American. He is a US Citizen. Güner speaks English at home with his family and for most other things. He generally only uses Turkish when corresponding to relatives and friends in Turkey.