Feature
USQ Volunteer Spotlight: Zach Smith
Today we profile USQ volunteer Zach Smith, Public Relations Coordinator. A self-starter who first became involved as a university team founder, Smith has grown into a volunteer working at the very heart of the organization.
Zach Smith officially joined as USQ’s Public Relations Coordinator in 2014, but he was involved long before that since his first year with the organization in 2010.
“I started out as a freshman at Grand Valley State University and I read articles about World Cup III,” Smith remembers. As a Harry Potter fan, he knew that he had to see the sport played out in person, and he settled in to watch his first quidditch tournament at Eastern Michigan University.
“I was completely amazed at how complicated and strategic the game was,” he recalls. It impressed him so much that he turned around and registered the first quidditch team at his own Grand Valley State University, called the Grand Valley Grindylows.
But Smith’s hope for the sport didn’t stop with one college team. “In 2010, I started as the team representative in Michigan,” he says. “So it was my primary goal to help facilitate development of teams and encourage teams to become official.”
Besides the team at his own university, Smith has overseen (and supported) three other teams within his home state, but ultimately left the action on the quidditch pitch in 2014 to focus on school. Of course, that didn’t stop him from continuing to help USQ grow.
“I didn’t want to completely disconnect myself from quidditch,” Smith explains. And with a major in communications, he knew just how valuable his skills could be to the organization.
“I was essentially asked by Nick Candido [the former Public Relations Manager] what I thought the responsibilities should be for a PR Coordinator,” Smith says. “I wrote the application, and then applied for it.”
Since taking on the role, Smith has supported USQ with the same passion and heart that he used to establish a platform for quidditch in Michigan. In fact, a total of six teams now populate the state after the addition of Central Michigan Quidditch in 2012 and Western Michigan University Thestrals in 2015.
Not to mention, all this while Smith has been earning himself quite a lot of pre-graduation experience by utilizing his major. “I’m proud of the Press Kit that I developed for USQ,” he said, naming just one of his accomplishments in the PR role.
And yet, for all the work that Smith has accomplished behind the scenes, he’s never forgotten that it’s all for the players (and the fans!) who are often found front and center on the quidditch pitch. It’s why he still attends games to this day.
“2014 was the first year that Grand Valley attended the World Cup. I had transferred out…in 2013,” he says. “So I was able to cheer on old teammates as well as the rest of the teams from my state.” Teams like Eastern Michigan Quidditch, Michigan State University Spartan Quidditch, and Michigan Quidditch Team.
To Smith, creating and supporting that welcoming environment for quidditch teams -- both new and old -- is what it’s all about.
“I enjoy helping this sport grow and expand,” he says. And luckily for us, Smith isn’t alone in his passion. USQ is chock-full of likeminded people, all working for the good of the organization’s members. “I have been able to meet and work with some of the most dedicated people that I know, and they have helped this sport grow to what it is today,” continues Smith.
Whether you’ve been a fan of USQ since 2010 or 2016, check out our open volunteer positions here to apply and share your talent with USQ today!
Jessica Shock is a Writing graduate of the Savannah College of Art & Design, and after spending a year working Florida's theme parks, she's back in Georgia as Wild Adventures Theme Park's new Communications Coordinator. Of course, she still keeps her connection to the Wizarding World strong by writing profile pieces of US Quidditch volunteers and blogging about business at The Wizarding Gazette.
