My name is Zachary Zwaschka, and I was born and raised in Spearfish. I graduated from the local high school in 2018 before leaving for the University of South Dakota to pursue a degree in journalism. Although I transferred to the Black Hills State English program after one semester, my passion for language and writing stuck with me. I fell in love with literary analysis, poetry and the art of storytelling, eventually taking a position as a student editor at the college’s writing center.
As an editor, I had the opportunity to further sharpen my writing skills as well as build meaningful connections with the rest of the English department. Community is incredibly important to me, so helping different students each day with their essays and assignments became a natural extension of that passion. I was able to sit down with them in a comfortable, one-on-one environment where their needs could be met with honesty and compassion. More than anything, most people simply needed a calm presence to explain their issues to, and I intend to bring this same level of honesty and compassion to my work at the Madison Daily Leader.
I graduated from Black Hills State in December 2021 with a major in English and a minor in creative writing. I recently moved to Madison with my girlfriend, Audra Lynam, who is set to teach high school English and speech in the coming school year.
Despite my English background, I am immensely excited to return to my old major and begin reporting in Madison.
Aside from writing, I am a massive music and baseball fan, and I am ecstatic to see the Twins finally in first place again. I also have a background in college and local theater. Before moving, I worked as a server in one of Spearfish’s downtown restaurants where I gained valuable perspective on hard work and team-building. Overall, I could not be more pleased with this opportunity, and I look forward to meeting more kind and generous people in this beautiful community.
