A Glimpse in the Life of Zach Hanrahan
Whether a relative or a friend, someone who has just met him or someone who has known him all his life, everyone I have talked to has only positive things to say about Zach Hanrahan.
Zach is a senior at East Carolina and has made a lot of close friends in his past years living in Greenville, yet he has not forgotten where he has come from and remains extremely close with his family in Mocksville, North Carolina, near Winston Salem.
Whenever Zach goes home to visit he spends a lot of time with his 6-year old sister Morgan. They are very close and the bond between the two is very apparent. His mother, Susan Athey, said that when Zach is home not only is he is awe at everything that Morgan does, he will make the effort to spend a lot of time with her.
Athey explained to me why Zach’s compassion for others is so genuine and helps shape how Zach lives his life from day to day. Athey shared with me how she has seen over the years that Zach has been the type of person that cares about everyone. He is not concerned about one’s background or what they wear; he looks deeper into people and tries to really get to know them and accept them for who they are.
Zach has a great sense of humor and one of his best qualities is his loyalty to his friends. Athey explained to me how important Zach’s friend’s are to him. He will stand up for a friend even if all the others gang up on that person, Zach will be the one to stand up for them, even if it means going against what the rest of his friends are doing.
Both his friends and his mom said that he is the type of friend that will give you the shirt off his back. His mother expressed to me how giving Zach is and that he is the type of person if he had one piece of candy, he would break it up and split it five ways and go without so that everyone around him would have a small piece to enjoy.
It was interesting to see that one of his friends, Isaiah Simmons, made the same type of comments about Zach stating that he is the friend who is “always there for you.” Whether it is advice (“he is a great talker”), money, or if you need anything else you can turn to Zach and he will be there to help you out.
Josh Ammons has lived with Zach for the past two years and they enjoy watching sporting events and playing video games together. Their favorite sports show to watch is “Around the Horn.” Zach loves to watch Ohio State football games, Carolina basketball games, and during baseball season you will see him cheering for the Yankees. Even Isaiah explained how knowledgeable Zach is when it comes to sports. The boys also enjoy watching stand up comedy together and comedic shows such as The Office and Family Guy.
Isaiah and Zach met while living in Tyler Residence Hall at ECU during 2003 and they spent the following summer at Emerald Isle. They have shared many great memories together but one of Simmons’ favorites was the night they were running down from their rooms on the ninth floor of Tyler and Zach fell down the last stair and broke his ankle. Despite this interruption, Zach wrapped his ankle and still went downtown that evening.
Simmons explained that in his opinion the one event that probably changed Zach’s live the most is the time that he got into a car accident in Zebulon. That night, an 18-wheeler slammed into Zach’s car. Right before this event Simmons said that Zach was not hanging out with the right kind of people and this really showed him that he should get back on track with his life.
On a sadder note, Athey describe one of the hardest memories she has of Zach as the day he graduated from high school and the day that he left for college. His sister Morgan agreed that the day he went to college was equally difficult for her.
Despite his family not wanting him to move away, his mom did acknowledge that one of the things that has changed about Zach since moving is his cleanliness. She noted that he was rather messy growing up but has now realized the importance of being clean in the past couple of years.
Zach likes to participate in social events and drink with his friends. He has his priorities straight and even though he might not always apply himself to the fullest he is very intelligent. He does not let a lot of people know but he is a very talented writer. He has little patience for bad drivers but rarely shows his temper.
In high school, Zach never drank or smoked and was always honest which allowed his parents to never worry about him. If he was going to be late he would call and give the reason, explain the situation and not try to cover up why he was not home on time. Zach is a hard worker and this is apparent - he has worked at Sports Connection for a little over a year. He usually puts in around twenty hours a week.
Zach’s mom stated how he was such a wonderful son and had only nice things to say about him and his friends also thought very highly of him. Zach is a genuine guy and I can see why he is liked by so many.
Filed under: Classmate Profiles, Spring 2008