JUST I N G AG E D E Z O O RT
TRYING OUT ALTERNATIVE FUTURES
W
hen Justin Gage DeZoort (’18) was in high school,
he had the opportunity to pursue any extracurricular
activity that piqued his interest. That was one of the
advantages of being part of a class of just 26 students
at Tuscaloosa Academy. But DeZoort didn’t just pursue
these activities; he excelled. He was editor-in-chief of
the school newspaper, The Knight Writer. He was on the
five-person math team that twice won first place at the
Alabama Independent School Association’s State Math
Tournament. He took one of the lead roles — the Mad
Hatter — in the school production of Alice in Wonderland.
And he was selected a member of the Tuscaloosa Mayor’s
Youth Council.
When asked what he liked about these experiences,
DeZoort’s response is straightforward: “They were so
much fun.” He loved attacking the hard problems that
his calculus teacher posed. He enjoyed the challenge of
learning to relax onstage. And he found it absorbing to
get to know the workings of his hometown government.
DeZoort even had a good time as a member of the
Tuscaloosa Academy Knights cross-country team,
although, he admits, he wasn’t such a great runner.
And in his free moments, DeZoort was a member of a
band that has just produced its first album. Here again,
DeZoort doesn’t go halfway. His guitar heroes include
Mikael Åkerfeldt of the progressive death metal band
Opeth and the extreme metal musician Devin Townsend.
Given the diversity of his interests and the quality of
his work, it is not surprising that he was awarded both
Rodman and Jefferson Scholars Foundation scholarships.
“Although the scholarships enabled me to attend U.Va.,
I’d had my heart set on coming here from the moment I
visited Grounds,” he says. “It was pretty inspiring to walk
the Lawn and think that I could be part of the university
that Thomas Jefferson created.”
Now that he’s a first-year student, DeZoort is confronting
a vastly different challenge from the ones he faced in
high school: As a University student, there are many more
activities available than he could ever hope to sample. He is
weighing his options carefully before diving in, meanwhile
playing his guitar whenever he can find the time.
DeZoort is also considering his options for a major.
He is thinking about pursuing a joint degree in either
computer science and physics or biomedical engineering
and physics, two dramatically different paths, but both
founded on interests cultivated in high school. “I feel that
being able to explore so many different experiences in
high school helped me learn a lot about myself,” he says.
“I’m looking forward to continuing that process at the
University.”
U.Va. ENGINEERING UNBOUND
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