Zachary Rhyner

In March of 2013, Zachary Rhyner was a soldier in the military.   In this month things for Rhyner changed after being struck by an enemy bullet during an assault against enemy combatants in Afghanistan.  The wound left by the bullet was extensive, leaving a femur to be repaired, a severed sciatic nerve, and causing complete paralysis below his right knee.  Rhyner had a new battle to fight, and that was to regain operational status.  Unfortunately, for his military career, he was forced to retire after 11 years of service.  During his recovery process, he was aided immensely by incredible specialists covering a wide range of medical disciplines. 

Through his experience of being a patient and his injury, he found that he wanted to pursue an education and to hopefully earn a professional degree in medicine.  Enrolling at Sandhills Community College gave Rhyner the opportunity to take the transition steps from serving in the military to becoming a student.  Enjoying being back in a college setting and learning he found the knowledge and competence of the professors at SCC aided immensely in the first steps he needed to become successful.  Rhyner looks forward to applying the skills learned at Sandhills to attend a university to continue pursuing a career in medicine.