School/Year: UNC/Chapell Hill/Sophomore
Age: 19
Hometown: Miami, FL
Major: Biology (pre-med)
Minors: Chemistry and Archaeology
Motto: If you can’t find a solution to a problem, you can at least find humor in it. It’s better to laugh at something that’s out of your control than worry about it.
Favorite study spot: The Undergraduate Library
Weird fact: I wear speedos under my swimsuit. Actually two.
Relationship Status: Single
This week’s campus cutie is a Miami-bred, pre-med sophomore. His lofty goals include becoming a space doctor and getting more followers on Twitter. This humorous cutie has his hands full with his schoolwork but in his free time is actively involved around campus and loves to read. He’s intelligent, funny and philanthropic.
Her Campus: Your majors/minors sound pretty intense. Any specific reason you chose to follow the pre-med path?
Zach Poliacoff: I like the precision of harder sciences. You know what you know and you know how you know it. You know? I see archaeology as applied history. Maybe one day I will even get to dig something.
HC: What do you hope to do after college?
ZP: Hopefully I’ll be going to medical school and end up being a pathologist or geneticist. I would love to work for the WHO or become an astronaut. What I really want to do is become a space doctor.
HC: Besides hitting the books at the UL, what else are you involved with around campus?
ZP: I volunteer with disability services, I’m a lab assistant in the biophysics lab and a member of ATO. I also am a part of the Carolina Union Activities Board as well as FIRMC, an organization that provides medical care to underprivileged children.
ZP: I like to read, exercise and hang out with friends when I’m not studying.
HC: Do you have any pets?
ZP: I’ve actually never had any pets. Well, do hermit crabs count? They died really fast, though. They’re not supposed to live long, though, right? Is two months long? For a butterfly that’s forever, but if a dog only lived two months, that’s embarrassing. Also, I’m a cat person. They’re cuter than dogs.
HC: When was your first kiss?
ZP: I was in the sixth grade. It was while watching Madagascar.
HC: Sounds romantic. What do you look for in a girl?
ZP: Someone I can have a good conversation with and who is funny and sarcastic. I like smart, athletic and older girls.
HC: Any deal breakers?
ZP: I don’t like a sloppy drunk, that’s a huge turnoff. I also don’t like girls who are all about text abbreviations and PDA. I would never be all over a girl in public.
HC: What’s been your longest relationship?
ZP: Two months. I get bored a bit easily.
HC: What’s your ideal date?
ZP: A nice dinner, but with good conversation … and alcohol. My best date was mini golfing with a girl and then we had a picnic at a park under a tree that was just blooming. Cliché, I know. But it was still nice.
ZP: Vespa. They give you a lot of food; quantity is important. Plus, their bread is absolutely delicious.
HC: Do you have any celebrity crushes?
ZP: Zooey Deschanel. Her voice is magical -- that’s one reason.
HC: What’s been your biggest achievement in the past year?
ZP: I recently hit the big 1,000 mark in tagged Facebook photos. That was a big day.
HC: Sounds important. What about your biggest regret?
ZP: The other night when we were at [B]ski’s and I didn’t order anything. I regret that. I was starving the next morning.
HC: Do you have any big fears?
ZP: Yes, elevators. I never get on one if I can help it. When I was a freshman, I got stuck in the elevator in Morrison at 3:00 a.m. for two hours. We sat on the floor waiting for the firefighters, all nine of us. My fear was cemented at that instant. I especially never get on one alone. That way, I have someone to talk to if I get stuck.
HC: That does sound pretty tragic. Any random fun facts our Her Campus readers should know?
ZP: I have broken all my limbs. For example, in third grade I had just seen Cirque Du Soleil and decided that in P.E. free time I should imitate one of the acts. I got on an exercise ball to try to walk on it like they do. I lasted three seconds.
All photos courtesy of Zach Poliacoff.
