By Taylor King

Students around Quincy University’s campus involve themselves in many different activities, whether they are activities on campus or outside of campus. From sports, clubs, organizations or volunteering, QU students are always keeping themselves busy.

For one student, this type of activity took him all the way to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Junior, Zach Reider is known for his outstanding athletic abilities on campus, but he really but them to the test this past summer.

Throughout the United States, they selected fifty applicants, twenty-five male and twenty-five females to be the Next Olympic Hopeful.

“I had a buddy of mine sent me a link for the Next Olympic Hopeful, he thought hey you should sign up for this! I thought I would give it a shot and I remember it was the last week that you could sign up,” Zach Reider said.

Being chosen to have an unforgettable experience was something that Reider will never forget.

“It was so surreal I absolutely loved it. Actually getting to be at the olympic training center, that is like the mecca of athletes, it was amazing. I loved every second of it,” Reider said.

On his down time there, he was able to do some other activities outside of training. One of which was so amazing he didn’t even know who was in the presence of.

“I actually got the chance with a couple of buddies to go to the rifle range and talk to a guy that competed at Rio and I actually didn’t know he was an olympian, at the time, I just thought he was one of the athletes there. This is so cool, I am in the presence of an olympian,” Reider explains.

The Next Olympic Hopeful is an experience like no other for athletes all across the country. Reider received his award for rowing.

For Reider, it was an experience of a lifetime. But, he is hopeful that his experience will be talking his next steps in the right direction.