John Gopali: From High School Setback to Cyber Success

By Schaefer Edwards

Photos by Amy Hart

There’s no way John Gopali could list out every single lesson he’s learned throughout his time as a cybersecurity student in UNC Charlotte’s College of Computing and Informatics. But one stands out above the rest: no matter where you begin your journey from, it’s the work you put in along the way that determines where you’ll end up.

Despite struggling academically in high school, Gopali has made the most of his time on campus by taking on tough classes and extracurricular leadership roles with gusto, all of which set him up for success with an upcoming cybersecurity role at a Fortune 500 company. 

Gopali is set to address hundreds of his fellow students and their families as a featured student speaker during the CCI commencement ceremony May 9. With his friendly smile and jovial demeanor, Gopali is determined to push back against the stereotype some people hold that computer science students are all quiet introverts content to work in the background.

A tech enthusiast from a young age, Gopali fondly recalls the hours he spent playing racing video games as a kid, loving the adrenaline rush of each virtual competition and igniting a lifelong passion for cars and motorcycles in the process. Around the time his family first arrived in North Carolina from Michigan, his interests began to turn to what was behind the screen versus what was on it. 

“It all really started in the 8th grade,” Gopali said, telling the story of how he was able to successfully “hack” his way around a setting on his cell phone enabled by his parents to limit the amount of time he could spend watching his favorite shows on Netflix. With a curious mind and a few helpful tips from the web as his toolset, he was able to bypass the barrier erected by his parents. “That’s when I really fell in love with it,” he said with a grin.

Gopali’s newfound interest in digital defense mechanisms — and how they could be bypassed — came at the perfect time, just as he was set to join local magnet high school Central Academy of Technology & Arts. When it was time to choose an academic focus area, the school’s cybersecurity pathway within the Information Systems academy was a natural fit.

But that eagerness to pursue computer science unfortunately didn’t translate to academic success for Gopali. “In high school, I wasn’t the best student,” he admitted, explaining how his low GPA was the likely culprit for his lack of options for where to attend college.

Luckily, Gopali was accepted to the Passport Program, a long-running initiative that gives students the chance to complete one year of classes at Central Piedmont Community College with personalized academic counseling before being reconsidered for admission to UNC Charlotte as transfer students.

“I kind of came in with a chip on my shoulder,” Gopali said, determined to prove he could flip the script and chart a new path toward the academic success he knew he was capable of deep down. 

Thanks to his hard work and the invaluable guidance from his academic advisors, Gopali successfully completed his CPCC coursework and was admitted as a full-time student studying cybersecurity and computer science at UNC Charlotte.

From his first days on campus, Gopali was determined to make the most of his time as a Niner. He dove headfirst into his coursework, doing everything he could to learn and grow as a computer scientist. On top of that, Gopali paired his CS education with a minor in criminal justice to further hone his investigative skills and better understand the minds of cyber-criminals.

He also found a community of like-minded students in the 49th Security Division, CCI’s largest cybersecurity organization that works to promote ethical hacking and security education while preparing members to compete in major cybersecurity competitions across the country. Gopali’s quest for opportunities to broaden his leadership and communication skills led him to serve as the club’s top marketing officer, which sent him into classrooms and events across CCI to sell fellow students on the organization’s vision and mission to support the next generation of cybersecurity experts.

During the past two summers, Gopali gained valuable real world cyber defense training while working as an IT Security Intern at the Citco Group, an organization that provides a broad range of financial services technology solutions to hedge funds and private equity groups. “I was thrown in the deep end,” he said, sharing the technical skill-sharpening and problem-solving opportunities afforded to him by his managers who treated him like a full-time employee.

Set to graduate with his B.S. this month, Gopali plans to spend his remaining time as a Niner enjoying the company of friends, getting in a few weightlifting sessions at his beloved University Recreation Center and unwinding after finals with a few evening races in the racing video games he still enjoys after all these years. Later this summer, he’ll be heading down to Dallas, TX for his first post-graduate job as a Network Engineer for AT&T, where he’ll work on cybersecurity initiatives for the telecommunications industry giant. 

Gopali hopes his experience can serve as an example to other students like him who may feel discouraged after having trouble in the classroom, and for anyone who worries that past missteps and mistakes may prevent them from achieving their dreams of fulfillment and professional success. 

“It’s not how you start,” Gopali said. “It’s how you finish.”