EMT Zach Fobar Aims for Medical School

SPOKANE, Wash. — Zach Fobar, a senior human physiology major at Gonzaga University, fell in love with medical science at a young age. However, it wasn’t until he took an anatomy class at Bellarmine College Preparatory in Saratoga, California, that he felt inspired to pursue it as a career path.

“It became my favorite class that I’ve ever taken. That’s when I decided that it was what I wanted to major in,” said Fobar, who is also earning a minor in psychology and will graduate in commencement exercises May 12 at the Spokane Arena.

His favorite instructor in the School of Nursing and Human Physiology is Steve Conant, who taught him in anatomy lab. Fobar is currently one of Conant’s teaching assistants.

“I’ve been a teaching assistant for him for about a year and we have a really good relationship,” Fobar said. “He is very passionate about his students and he really wants us to learn.”

Fobar says he appreciates how the Jesuit educational tradition has aided his studies in medicine.

“Ethics was a class that really conjoined well with human physiology because a lot of us are going into the field of medicine and there are a lot of ethical implications in terms of life-support, giving patients drugs, and surgeries,” Fobar said.

In the spring of 2016, Fobar decided he wanted to become certified as an emergency medical technician and was hired at Deer Park Ambulance.

“I really love working with patients and helping them and I like seeing them progress and get better,” he said. “It has really solidified my love for medicine.”

After graduation, Fobar plans to apply to medical school. He believes Gonzaga has prepared him for his next steps.

“Gonzaga has instilled a strong work ethic in me. I didn’t do very well in the first semester of my freshman year and that taught me that I have to work really hard for what I want to do,” he said. “Now I am very hard-working and I have learned to balance school, work and my social life.”