In honor of American Indian Heritage Month, UNC Pembroke is proud to recognize Zachary Young, a senior Mass Communication major who is also completing a minor in American Indian Studies.

Young is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Pine Needle and student manager for the CARE Resource Center, the student-run food pantry and professional closet. A Lumberton native, Young is a Mellon REACH Fellow currently researching incarceration rates of American Indians in North Carolina and their access to social safety nets upon release.

He began his educational career at UNCP after serving four years in the United States Air Forces. He spent an additional two years in service to the United States as a government support contractor. During his enlistment, he was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi; Kunsan Air Base in South Korea, and Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts.  

Young is currently studying to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and, upon graduation, plans to attend law school and study constitutional law.