Zach Rehm is a first-year sociology master’s student. Despite having traveled across the globe, he still hasn’t been able to find any other place like Montana. He grew up here, even practicing with his high school football team on the Griz football field before graduating. Experiences like these showed Zach what kind of community the University of Montana had to offer.

After Zach finished high school, he joined the Army, where he served for four years before being injured. When he left the Army, he decided to return to his home state to complete a bachelor’s degree at the University of Montana. Zach decided to study psychology and sociology, focusing on criminology. During the 2014-2016 Ferguson protests, he became interested in the problems in the criminal justice system and wanted to learn about potential solutions.

While Zach worked toward his bachelor’s degree, he was impressed by how teachers at UM were dedicated to their students. The professors in the sociology department, especially, were what convinced Zach to continue on to his master’s degree at UM. For his thesis, he plans to study veteran suicide and how it relates to veterans leaving the total institution of the military. Zach himself struggled to reestablish himself in society after leaving the military, and he wants to use his experiences in both the military and the UM sociology department to change the way society understands veteran suicide. After graduating, Zach hopes to work in federal law enforcement.