Zachary was born with an Endocardial Cushion Defect. He had open heart surgery at age two to repair it and continues with routine cardiologist visits to this day. He works for a woman who lost her daughter at age five after repair of a congenital heart defect. This reminds Zachary of how blessed he is to continue living with his heart defect and the fact that so many other families have lost their precious children to this problem.
Zachary?s sister was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was three years old and his father died suddenly in March 2006 of a heart attack. The past year has been very difficult for him and his family. He has had to take on roles within his house that his dad used to do.
Zachary will be attending Burlington County College and then transferring to Rutgers University through a partnership they have with Burlington County College. He plans to study Political Science and ultimately enter Law School. He would like to work in law as well as politics on the state or county level, as he feels he can make more of an impact there than at the federal level. He would like to raise awareness of organ and blood donation and the various charities that work to help kids with heart defects.
Zachary will receive the scholarship all four years working towards his Bachelor?s degree. We wish Zachary the best of luck!