Football Student Assistant Coach Zachary Hebl to deliver College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science Senior Commencement Address

Football Student Assistant Coach Zachary Hebl to deliver College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science Senior Commencement Address
May 3, 2012

University of Wisconsin-Platteville senior Zachary Hebl is no stranger to challenges and perseverance, having been diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was an infant, but that has not stopped him from pursuing his engineering dreams as well as working towards achievements on behalf of people with disabilities.

Hebl will deliver the senior commencement address for UW-Platteville's College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science ceremony on Saturday, May 12.  

A native of Solon, Iowa, Hebl will talk about what it means to overcome different challenges and persevere through whatever may come along.

"Very rarely do I think of myself as someone who has a disability," he wrote in his application. "Instead, I look at the fact that everybody has challenges; mine just happen to be a little different than others."

 Hebl is a mechanical engineering major who also holds an associates degree in pre-engineering from Kirkwood Community College. He received the Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America in 2005 and has also worked on improving polling sites and voting areas for people with disabilities in the Cedar Township in Iowa. In 2004 he received the Congressional Merit Award "for outstanding community service and dedication in working to make his voting site accessible" by U.S. Senator Tom Harkin.

On campus, Hebl is controls team captain for UW-Platteville's Society of Automotive Engineers Formula Team and also assisted with the Pioneer football team. In addition, he is a committee member and assistant scoutmaster of Troop 120 of the Hawkeye Area Council for the Boy Scouts of America, a member of the Graham Champions 4-H Club in Johnson County, Iowa, and a member of the State of Iowa Youth Action Committee.

"I am very lucky to have parents who believed that having a disability was only an obstacle, not a roadblock," he said. 

Written by: Angela O'Brien, UW-Platteville University Information and Communications, (608) 342-1194, obrienan@uwplatt.edu