Cape Henry Collegiate issued the following announcement on June 1
Although he did not originally expect to become a Tennessee Volunteer, Zach Healey is quite happy about his decision. During his tour, he discovered so many benefits, including the beautiful campus--“it’s crazy how nice it is,” and its proximity to Knoxville--“a cool place, and it’s right by the Smoky Mountains!” UT, Knoxville also has “a good program, it’s a big school, and it has football.” Zach is excited to begin and is also glad that, although it is a large campus, there are four other seniors heading there from CHC as well.
Looking ahead, of course, causes one to look back. Zach joined us at Cape Henry Collegiate in the fifth grade, a tough time to jump in since most of his classmates had formed bonds since kindergarten. That changed when he moved to our Middle School the following year, where several other students were new to CHC--and thus, the friendship between Zach, Gianni Schenone, and Parker Mann began as their Advisory group with Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Mason remained together throughout their middle school years. His long-running friendship with Austin Ascher was formed during the same time.
Zach has been grateful to those who have had an impact on him during Upper School, as well. Mrs. Speight, his advisor since Freshman year, was “always really helpful, making things easier for me.”
Mr. Rodgers has played a key role in Zach’s choice of a major at UT, Engineering. “Physics got me interested, with Mr. Rodgers; my favorite class and definitely my favorite teacher. He would talk about how and why things work in the world, how fast things can fall and hit the ground … just fascinating. He was also my Chemistry teacher. He’s really hard but such a nice guy; he gives you a little guidance but not much, so you have to problem-solve on your own. It’s frustrating at times, but it helped me to learn this.” And learn he did, because Mr. Rodgers recalls, “Zach was a hard worker who seemed to figure out early on that his academic success was in his own hands. When he was faced with a challenge, he went about overcoming it in a systematic and deliberate way.”
This may have also contributed to his pragmatic approach to Spanish. Since he is a natural at it, he made the most of his opportunity, taking classes through Spanish V because he felt that being able to speak two languages would be “helpful.”
Zach enjoyed being a student in Mr. Facemire’s classes for two years. “‘Face’ is easily one of my favorite teachers here at Cape Henry. His classes have been some of the most fun. Facemire is definitely the funniest teacher at Cape Henry; he always makes it easy to put a smile on my face or make me laugh.” And Mr. Facemire reflects, “Zach is a great student, intuitively intellectual; and, more than that, he is a great person.”
Zach has also appreciated being a student of Mrs. Judge, who reflects, “I've known Zach throughout his entire Upper School career. Zach is an intelligent guy with a quick, sharp wit and a twinkle in his eye. He really likes a good debate, and I think that he enjoys reading more than he'd be willing to admit.”
The first AP class he took was with Mr. McGraw for AP US Government. “Mr. McGraw is a great teacher; I love him, definitely a wonderful teacher! He always finds a way to engage the class-- for example, creating Jeopardy games to review before a test. Never a boring lecture.”
Fellow student Carsen Harrell, who invited him, gets the credit for Zach’s involvement in Crew for his entire time in the Upper School, during which he has been captain for the past two years. Zach recalls the generosity of Cape Henry families who allowed the team to both store their boats and practice on their property, as well as the regattas which took place at the scenic Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
Looking forward, Zach noted that although there is a tight-knit CHC group heading together to the University of Tennessee, it will be unlike his experience here. “Everybody knows each other, everybody is so close here; there may have been one or two occasions when I didn’t know someone in my own grade level.” He also noted the kindness of the teachers, who “try to make our lives as easy as possible, by helping, staying after class, providing study guides, vocab ... the whole nine yards!”
If you are a new student reading this, Zach advises, “The School has so much to offer as far as activities and extracurriculars; take advantage of anything and everything.” This includes the Nexus program; he is “super-excited” to be going on his first Nexus trip this summer to Polynesia.
And after that, onward to the University of Tennessee! We love your positive attitude and will look forward to hearing about your success there, Zach. Please keep in touch with us at your Cape Henry home!
Original source can be found here.
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