Freshman Zak Wright (center) and his father (Patrick), twin (Maddori), sister (Peyton) and mother (Michelle) have professional pictures taken in Oahu.
In the “New Kids on the Block” series, new students will be interviewed on their life outside of SCDS.
Zak Wright, a graduate of Katherine Albiani Middle School, is an incoming freshman. Next will be sophomore Mehdi Lacombe.
Q: What was your previous school like?
A: My school was located in Elk Grove. There were around 2,000 kids. The sizes of the schools are very different, and Country Day is way more organized. I think that since it’s a smaller school, there is more one-on-one teaching and more opportunity for a better education.
Q: What sports do you play?
A: I run cross country, track and field, and I am going to start lacrosse this year! My favorite sport is cross country. I like cross country because I really enjoy running. I like how it is an individual sport and I get to do my own thing at my own pace.
In track and field, I run the mile, run the 800-meter and participate in the high jump. I may also do shotput this year.
Q: How long have you been playing each sport?
A: I have been running cross country and track and field since seventh grade.
Q: What are your hobbies and extracurriculars outside of school?
A: I like recreational swimming and jumping on the trampoline in my free time, but my main hobbies are sports.
Q: Why did you choose SCDS for high school?
A: My parents made my high-school decision for me. My parents chose Country Day because they felt that there would be more opportunities than there would be at a public high school. So far, it’s okay.
Q: Do you have any siblings or pets?
A: I have two sisters: a twin sister and an 8-year-old. Maddori, my twin, is nine minutes younger and attends St. Francis High School.
I have lots of pets: five dogs, a cat, a tortoise, nine chickens and two geckos.
My dad has two hunting dogs and I rescued a dog from a park. (There was a whole litter of puppies dumped in a park, and a friend of ours found them and gave us one of them. That’s how I rescued Hallie.) We also adopted two dogs from my grandma because she passed away.
Q: What is it like living with chickens?
A: We live on 12 acres of land, and our chickens live in a coop over by our garden. Our dogs usually don’t bother them. The chickens do lay a lot of eggs, so we sell them to a couple of our neighbors, usually for $3 a dozen. We got the chickens about three years ago, and we rotate who takes care of them.
Q: What is a fun fact about you that would surprise your friends?
A: I don’t know. Probably that I can run a mile in five minutes and 14 seconds.
Q: What has been your favorite vacation?
A: Probably either Hawaii or Alaska. They were both really fun trips. We went to Oahu and swam with dolphins.
On our Alaska trip, we left from Vancouver, British Columbia, stopped in Ketchikan, Alaska, passed through Juneau, stopped in Skagway, took a train ride on the White Pass and Yukon Route in Skagway, sailed through Glacier Bay and by the Hubbard Glacier and ended up in Seward.
In Ketchikan, I went on a tour with my grandma and got to see salmon swimming up the river. In Juneau we went on a boat tour and went whale watching. And in Skagway we took an old train ride up through the Yukon Route.
Then our cruise ship sailed through Glacier Bay, and we got to see massive glaciers along the Alaskan coastline. I would absolutely go back. I really like seeing other parts of the world.
Q: What did you do this summer?
A: I mostly stayed at home, but my family and I are flying to Florida to go on a cruise to the Bahamas some time in December. I’m not super excited, though, because I’m worried there are going to be a ton of little kids running around everywhere since it’s a Disney cruise!
—Bri Davies
