INTERVIEW BY ALEXANDRIA WATTS

As a young boy, Zachary Recolan could often be found grappling with computers. He would immerse himself in learning all that he could about web development, HTML, and PHP. But, every time he put what he learned into practice, he was only met with error screen after error screen, even after transcribing someone else’s correct code into the program. The boy was disheartened, and decided to give up on coding.

Fast forward and Zack is a senior at Marist College studying Computer Science with minors in Information Technology, Information Systems, Mathematics, and Psychology. He secured three victories out of the four Marist-sponsored hack-a-thons he contended in and has interned for IBM, Topical BioMedics, and Eyesaac System Technologies Inc. He has well-versed himself in 13 coding languages and continues to strive to learn more every day.

BACKGROUND— Zack grew up in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, a good 5,000-mile trip away from Marist, with his mother Maile and his sister, currently a senior in high school. Growing up, his day consisted of 6 a.m. baseball practice, school, another practice, and homework, cycling like this for six to seven days out of the week.

“I would not know what to do with myself if I were not taking 18 credits and filling every waking second of my life with work. I would be bored out of my mind.”

He graduated high school as valedictorian, but in his glory he couldn’t help but whisper “hi mom” into the microphone as he walked off stage, according to Maile, Zack’s mother.

While at home, Zack is surrounded by an environment of high expectations and great confidences in the future. In elementary school, he would repeatedly get into trouble at school for the reason that he completed his work at a much faster rate than his peers and was simply left with nothing else to do.

He credits his reason for pursuing computer science to him being constantly reminded of his skill with computer when he was a child.

“I enjoy the process of learning things,” he contemplated. “I stand to gain the most by learning to understand a perspective that I disagree with. I can’t know for sure that I’m right or know that someone else or some other idea is wrong until I understand it fully.”

HEADING OUT—When considering his options for life after high school, Zack was faced with two options: joining the military, or obtaining a scholarship to fund his higher education.

“When I was younger, my mom loosely threatened that we can’t afford school, we’ll never be able to afford college, so you’re basically on your own for that,” Zack said.

He enrolled in Marist after being presented with the Marist College merit based four-year full tuition, room, and board scholarship. He made this decision without ever having set foot on campus.

“Honestly, I do miss family and friends a lot,” Zack reflected. “It’s very difficult to be away for a year plus at a time. But, it’s something I knew I needed to do. I knew that the computer science opportunities in Hawaii aren’t that plentiful, so I always knew I would have to leave.”

Aside from the move from Hawaii to New York, another transition Zack had to make was when he ventured to Japan for a semester of study abroad. He received the TOMODACHI Initiative Internship Scholarship from the American Embassy in Tokyo to fund his abroad experience. While abroad, he spent most of his time interning for Eyesaac and saturating himself with the Japanese culture, leaving him “immensely sad” to return to the United States.

““The last year of my life, I tried to adopt… [a policy where I never said no] and I strategically placed abroad in the aforementioned year so the only time I could say no was when I really couldn’t [because] of an assignment or I was already busy. Otherwise, if I had something offered to me, I had to do it, even if I had to move mountains to make it work or really hated the idea of it.”

Zack’s passion for the Japanese culture has come to transcend his time abroad. In his senior year, he set a goal to learn 6,000 Japanese words in the period of six months. He was originally inspired to learn the language in high school and chose Japanese as his language of study after recognizing its prevalence in not only the tech world, but also the Hawaiian culture.

“It’s a mix of really liking Japanese culture, really liking [the] Japanese language, and really, really wanting to be able to understand another language,” stated Zack.

Zachary Recolan is originally from Hawaii, studying Computer Science. Zack won first place in three hack-a-thons and has interned for IBM, Topical BioMedics, and Eyesaac System Technologies Inc. Aside from his interests in coding, he is passionate about the Japanese culture and has even learned the launguage, in addition to studying abroad and interning in Japan.

CAMPUS LIFE— When not polishing his Japanese, Zack can be found in a copious amount of campus activities. He is employed as a tutor in the Programming Lab and has membership in clubs such as math club, Asian Alliance, the Marist College Computer Society, and the Marist Ambassadors. Additionally, he competes in intramural volleyball and dodgeball and volunteers with organizations like Habitat for Humanity and the Food Recovery Network.

“My [first] impression of him was that he was very smart, had a quick mind and a delightful sense of humor,” stated Jane Fiore, Marist adjunct professor and Zack’s advisor and mentor. “As I have gotten to know him better over the past three and a half years, I have found that my first impressions were correct. However, I have also learned that he is sincere, humble, hardworking and has a generous spirit.”

Professor Fiore’s favorite memory of Zack is when he and other National Science Foundation students scholar students invited her out to dinner to celebrate her retirement from her position as the Director of the Academic Learning Center.

“I like to keep busy,” laughed Zack. “I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I weren’t taking 18 credits and filling every other waking second of my life with work. I would be bored out of my mind.”

Maile Recolan, Zack’s mother, stated that she is impressed by his, “ability to set goals in his life and follow through on achieving them. Whenever he sets a goal there is nothing that will stop him from achieving it. Zack is the type of man that gives his all on everything.”

As for the future, Zack does not want to be stuck to one career. He refuses to be tethered to one place, saying, “I’d love to just pick up my computer and live in some country for a month, two months, and explore and enjoy work.”

He is curious to delve further into IOS app development. “I, to a fault, definitely like Apple and their ecosystem of products,” he said, smiling down at the Apple watch strapped to his wrist.

“I would rather do something that really excites me, even if it’s something that’s not related to computers, than some computer job. I definitely love computers, but I love being intellectually challenged more.”

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