Local Soldier Shares His Experiences with Fourth Grade Students

“The impact that Zach has had on all of us has been remarkable, this was a most memorable time with a true hero! We can’t stop talking about the information he shared with us.” With these passionate words Suzanne Alexander, 4th grade teacher at Driver Middle School, described United States Army soldier Zachary Finch’s visit to her classroom on February 23rd. Finch graduated from Marcellus Senior High School in 2008 and he has served more that 2 ½ years in the United States Army. Students in Alexander’s and Janine Snyder’s 4th grade class have been e-mailing Finch throughout this school year. Finch’s mother, Terri Finch, is the school nurse at Marcellus Senior High School. Through the on going e-mail communication, the 4th grade students have been learning about Zach’s life as a soldier as well as gaining an understanding of the customs and culture of Afghanistan. The classroom atmosphere on February 23rd was electric as Finch stopped by for a two hour visit with his younger peers. Among the questions and responses shared on this visit were:

Question: “What do you eat?”
Response: “One meal a day worth 3,000 calories”

Question: “Do you get to take a shower?”
Response: “The longest I have gone without a shower was 45 days.”

Question: “What kind of insects have you encountered?”
Response: “Camel Spiders are as big as a medium size dog. They attach themselves to the underside of the camel and use their two fangs to inject a numbing agent into their victims.”

Question: “What do women soldiers do?”
Response: “Women soldiers are typically nursing, clerical, mechanical/engineering, or cooks. They only accompany the troops on combat missions when they may be needed to enter a household with females.”

Question: “How long have you been serving in the Army?”
Response: “I’ve already served 2 ½ years of my four year term.”
Zach Finch will be returning to Afghanistan the week of March 1st and Alexander’s and Snyder’s students will continue their e-mail correspondence. As Alexander and her students expressed, “We carry Zach in our thoughts and prayers as he returns to Afghanistan.”