In an effort to highlight Fossil’s outstanding seniors, I am honored to write about Zach Bartel. Bartel is currently 17 years old, balancing a rigorous course load and swimming close to 22 hours a week. This fall, he will be attending and swimming at Harvard University. He chose Harvard because “it is one of the best universities in the country and their swim team has a great team culture.”

Taking a glance at his college search, Bartel said, “I wasn’t really being recruited for swimming until around January of my junior year because I was kind of a late bloomer. I visited the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota in the spring of my junior year but I wasn’t in contact with Harvard until a bit later when one of the swimmers on the team reached out to me. I visited there over the summer and committed to the recruiting process shortly after.” He found that “after visiting, I fell in love with the school and the team and decided that was where I wanted to go. I submitted my application in September and heard back from admissions in October.” Quite frankly, it came as a big shock to him when he found out he got in, given that he never believed he would. He now plans on studying economics. 

An even more interesting story is one of his family. Bartel’s older sister and Fossil alumni, Zoe Bartel, attends and swims for Stanford. Credited for her successes in breastroke and contributions to the National team, both Bartel children can be noted as not only accredited students, but athletes too—especially given the percentage of families who have not one, but two, children participating in a sport and studying at two of the nation’s most prestigious universities—this story is one that should be told. 

Bartel is most worried about the cold winters in Massachusetts, but more than anything, feels “excited about living somewhere different, meeting new people and having more freedom.” At the moment, he is “very excited to meet new people and to have new opportunities,” although nervous feelings have not subsided knowing how challenging the following years may be. Regardless, Bartel has been offered the opportunity of a lifetime and his friends and family are looking forward to seeing all the good things he goes on to do. It is without a doubt that his work ethic and dedication will take him far—his father claimed that “the athleticism and brains clearly skipped a generation!”