National Guard duty calls history teacher to Iraq

[darrels joy]

National Guard duty calls history teacher to Iraq
By JAMES JOYCE III
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC


Just as Ken Zontek was starting to make his mark teaching history at Yakima Valley Community College, the first-year professor is stepping away for a bit.

Zontek, a former history teacher at Eisenhower High School, started teaching at the community college this fall but has been called to active duty with the Army National Guard.

"A lot of faculty are just getting to know him," says Mary Lou Rozdilsky, dean of arts and sciences at YVCC.

Zontek will likely serve an 18-month tour in Afghanistan. He is not sure of his exact assignment, which may include serving in Iraq, but he is not hesitant.

"Somebody's got to do it. We have these commitments and in that case I have a sense of responsibility," he says.

While an overflowing room of YVCC students, faculty and staff gathered to bid farewell to Zontek and departing drama director Stacy Ohrt last Friday , the appreciative tone by each was markedly different.

Ohrt energetically thanked those gathered and shared stories of mistaken identity invoking laughter and later broke to tears. A more composed Zontek calmly expressed his appreciation and quickly darted to class.

As students showed their appreciation for two of their parting professors, John Marples, a sophomore at YVCC from Naches, remembered back to the first day he walked into Zontek's class.

Zontek, like Ohrt, also had a case of mistaken identity when he started teaching, just a few months ago. The athletic-looking 39-year-old professor is about 6 feet, 3 inches tall, and when Marples walked into Zontek's history class that first day he anticipated a cocky jock.

"The first day I was not really sure about him. He's a big guy," Marples says.

But as Marples got to know Zontek he was pleasantly surprised to learn that his teacher holds a doctorate degree from the University of Idaho, where he did his dissertation on American Indian efforts to save the buffalo. Zontek has written a book on the subject and hopes it will be in print when he returns from active duty.

"He's really a great guy," Marples enthuses.

This is the first time Zontek has been called to active duty in his 11 years in the Guard. He admits that it is an inconvenience for him, both personally and professionally.

"It's hard to say you are replacing these people," Tim Jeske, a political science professor at YVCC, says of Ohrt and Zontek. "You are finding people to fill in."

During his leave, other professors will teach Zontek's classes.

Under the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994, Reservists and Guardsmen who are deployed are guaranteed their previous civilian jobs or similar jobs with the same level of benefits when they return from active military service.

While that's reassuring, Zontek admits he will miss the opportunity to be a catalyst of growth for others.

"To me that is the best part of teaching to help people self actualize," he says.

But Zontek has had a self-discovery of his own. As soon as he is done grading finals for the quarter he will have to drive over to Fort Lewis and report to active duty by Wednesday.

"It's like a take-my-tie-off-and-put-my-dog-tags-on type deal," he says.