Featured Member – Andrew Ratz
For everyone, this past year required some level of flexibility to continue to move forward in today’s world. These changes came all around and in many ways as daily routines changed, businesses changed, and we all became zoom experts.
As zWORKS heads into 2021, one thing we will continue to focus on is the health and safety of our members. 2020 brought a new kind of zWORKer: the e-learner. As schools and universities continue with online classes and virtually meeting, zWORKS found members whose focus are on their studies rather than their business.
Andrew Ratz is a Freshman at Loyola University Chicago where he studies Biochemistry with the hope to attend medical school postgrad. As a Zionsville native, Andrew attended Zionsville High School while playing soccer for the Indiana Fire Developmental Academy. Andrew is the youngest with three older sisters, one currently in medical school, one in dental school, and the third attends Butler University also studying Biochemistry. The example set by his older siblings as well as his father, who has a PhD in Organic Chemistry, helped Andrew decide that he wanted to pursue this path toward medical school.
As he searched for his dream school, his initial focus was influenced by soccer, wanting to play at the collegiate level while reaching his academic goals. Eventually he landed on Loyola, which he first visited for a soccer camp in high school.
With the outbreak of the pandemic, Andrew never made it to campus for his Fall semester as all courses were shifted to online. Working on his studies at home proved to be difficult. Distractions got in the way and eventually Andrew’s mother signed him and his sister up with memberships to zWORKS.
zWORKS was able to provide a quiet study space needed to focus on the academic workload that comes along with online learning. Much of the semester was spent teaching himself from the textbook, which can be difficult at times with science-based material. The ability to work in a conference room and use the whiteboard to help visualize his work greatly benefited Andrew as he worked through the semester.
Besides the quiet study space, Andrew was able to spend more time in downtown Zionsville and experience the entrepreneurial spirit that is present in zWORKS.
When he is able to return to campus, Andrew will be rooming with his friend and fellow Zionsville High School alum. When exactly that will be is still undetermined, but Andrew is hoping it will come in the Spring semester.
Getting to know Andrew on a more personal level…
- Enjoys playing video games with his friends in his free time.
- His full name is Andrew Michael Ratz, Jr. and his contact prescription is often confused with his Dads.
- Andrew loves IU Basketball.
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