About Zac

Humble Beginnings

Growing up in an environment of racial tension and financial scarcity, a young Zachary Robbins experienced first-hand the neglect of teachers who didn’t value his worth as a human being. His encounters with racial discrimination and a biased educational system left him determined to make a difference. Zac often shares with audiences, “My experience of growing up poor, immersed in an underground economy, and being unsupported by schools radicalized me.” When Zac was a high school senior, he received very little support from his school counselor. His senior credit check and college counseling meeting with his school counselor lasted three minutes. His counselor said, “Zac, you have the credits you need to graduate. Have you filled out any college applications?” After young Dr. Robbins explained that a local college had written to him a few times- but he hadn’t applied for admissions- his school counselor sent him back to class. A few weeks before he was ready to participate in his high school graduation, a different counselor, an African-American woman, pulled young Dr. Robbins into her office and made him complete an application for a scholarship to a local community college. The scholarship paid for 12 credits per semester and connected him with an adult mentor. Her advocacy and refusal to give up on Dr. Robbins saved his life. The care and steadfastness she showed him those weeks before he was scheduled to graduate from high school planted the seeds for the tenacity by which he pursues equal education opportunities and effective instruction for all students.