Zach Druce Ambassador Spotlight

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Margaret Murray. This entry was posted in Whole U Program Information. Bookmark the permalink.

I recently spoke with Zach Druce, a Whole U ambassador and Student Affairs Program Ops Specialist in Tacoma. Take a minute to get to know him!

What brought you to the UW?
I’ve been here two and a half years. I had finished my masters in Coaching and Athletic Administration, and my wife and I had a little one. She’s from this area, so we moved back.

Where are you from originally?
I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, but lived two years in Nebraska, two years in Idaho, and three years in Colorado.

I lived in Colorado, too! What did you do there?
Oh, really? I coached the baseball team for a community college.

Can you tell me about your current role?
I oversee student facilities and recreation fitness programs. I’ve also taken on more housing since I started, such as supervising RAs and monitoring housing violations. Now I’m working with the Y on the new student rec center that is being built. Construction is going fast! It should be open in January 2015.

That’s great. Will faculty and staff be able to use the new rec center?
Yes! Like a regular Y, faculty and staff will have to buy a membership, but then they’ll be able to use it fully. We’re working with the Y to see if a discount is possible.

Wonderful! Why did you agree to serve as an ambassador for The Whole U?
I really like the idea of providing these opportunities for staff and faculty. It makes it more possible to take advantage of campus with more discounts and opportunities. Not everyone has same goals, so I like that The Whole U provides options.

So our first Guinness World Record is official. What record should The Whole U try to break in 2015?
That’s tough. The first thing that comes to mind is the largest set of group burpees, but that would be very challenging. Maybe the largest half mile run? Or the largest group that could continuously run the same route? Something inclusive that people could do even if they aren’t into fitness.

It would be neat if we could do a relay from Tacoma all the way to Bothell.
Yes! Who knows? The fun part of my job, and the fun part of The Whole U, is that there’s no blue print. You’re the first person doing it, so the attitude is “let’s try it.”

If you were going to start a social group, what would it be?
My idea when I first heard about social groups was a brewing group. It’d be a Brewing 101 group that meets outside of campus.

That sounds great! Let us know when you get that going. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Spending time with family, exploring Washington, and trying to experience as much life as I can. Up here that’s a lot.

 

Thanks to Zach for taking time out of his busy day to talk with me! To find your Whole U ambassador, you can search this list by name or organization.