Pandemic Papers: An interview with Zach Toner (Class of 2017)

 

He was one of the good guys, in a class filled with them. Zach Toner was part of the Class of 2017, a class that I will remember fondly (as I do almost all graduating classes) for bringing me and our program great memories, breakout performances and amazing loyalty as well. I do remember one aspect of my recruitment of Toner – the impact that Hurricane Sandy had on him and his family. I do not recall his sucky recruiting trip (which he mentions here), but in this case the outcome was all that matters: Toner came to Marist, succeeded academically and athletically (although his college running career was pockmarked with injuries, he remained a dedicated and hard-working team member with strong to solid performances when he was healthy), and remains fiercely loyal to our team, which we appreciate greatly. Like all of us, his work life has been greatly impacted by the pandemic, and he tells us about that here. We’re extremely grateful that he and members of his family remain loyal blog followers and readers. That’s really neat. Anyway, we really appreciate Toner taking the time to answer these questions as the Pandemic Papers “second series” continues today and into early 2021.   

How, when and why did you start running?

Well, I ran middle school track but I'll say my running career really started my freshman year of high school during indoor track.  I played football that fall and wanted to stay in shape.  I knew the high school coach from a summer camp that I went to/worked at where he was a director.  He told me to come out for track and I could be a great pole vaulter.  Well, much to my dismay, I never even picked up a pole; but I also never played another down of football.  I really enjoyed the camaraderie of the track team.  I also had a big improvement from winter track (5:40s mile) to spring track (4:50s mile) and I was hooked.

What are some of your fondest memories and biggest highlights from your high school running days?

We had a very good distance program at Calhoun when I started running all three seasons and my class continued that tradition.  I'll list four things that come to mind off the bat:

1. Senior year we won a letter race in cross country at the Manhattan Invite when we were ranked something like 5th going into the race

2. One of my best friends, former teammate, and current roommate Jack Curran (Lehigh dude) went 1,2 in the indoor county 2 mile back to back years

3. Running my anger out, after getting crushed by Hurricane Sandy, at the cross country state meet senior year and finishing in a big PR.

4. Running at indoor nationals in the 4x1 mile.  The four legs and our coach took the train and subway in and all four legs ran massive PRs.  Was also great because our Principal came to watch and tweeted that we finished second at nationals (we finished second in our heat* at nationals).  

I also have to mention the good times at Foundation Running Camp where I made lifelong friends and met a bunch of forever Foxes.

How, when and why did you decide on Marist? Talk about the recruiting process ...

My college search was relatively easy.  I knew I wanted to run and I knew I wanted to major in Criminal Justice.  I looked at a bunch of schools but only seriously considered 3, of which Marist was at the top.  I took an official visit which, well, sucked.  It involved me and the two other recruits watching Bryan Buttigieg (Gregg Buttergreg) study for a bio exam.  The other two recruits complained that they weren't being fed vodka shots like on their other visits, but I knew Gregg so it was all good.  I ran with the team the next day and that solidified that Marist would be a great fit.  I believe I called you while you were on vacation to commit to coming?  Best decision I ever made.

What was your major at Marist and how did it help you prepare for your current career?

I was a Criminal Justice Major with business and political science minors.  I really enjoyed the professors in the Criminal Justice program at Marist.  The thing that prepared me the most for my career, which I think has since been changed, was the major requiring two internships.  Not only did it narrow my focus on what I wanted to do with my career, but it gave me experience on my resume and in my interviews for jobs.

You have a unique and interesting job! Explain exactly what you are doing, and how has your job been affected by the pandemic?

I am a Special Investigator at the New York City Department of Investigation.  I am assigned to the Department of Social Services Inspector General Office.  We investigate criminal allegations, as well as allegations of employee misconduct, and conflicts of interest.  We also write policy recommendations to prevent fraud in the future.  There are a lot of avenues we can take with our investigations.  As an investigator, I carry out every step of the investigation from intake, to interviews and surveillance, to potential search warrants and arrests, while simultaneously looking for conflicts of interests, administrative violations, and policy recommendations.  

Covid has complicated a lot of the aspects of my job.  Before Covid, I was in the field on average twice a week doing interviews or surveillance.  Both were compromised by Covid and the shutdown.  Also, the court shutdowns have caused a massive backlog of cases, which continues to grow.  Most of our cases are non-violent which rightly get pushed behind the violent cases, so I think the backlog will have an impact on our prosecutions for a long time.  On top of all of that, all NYC employees have to take 5 unpaid furlough days due to the city's financial issues.  It's better than the alternative, but still not great.

What are some of your favorite academic memories from Marist -- favorite professors, classes, etc.?

My favorite class at Marist was actually in my political science minor, Constitutional Interpretation.  It was incredibly challenging and thought-provoking.  It wasn't a great boost to my GPA, but I enjoyed it so much that I took the follow-up to the class, Constitutional Interpretation: Civil Rights and Liberties as an elective.  Other than that, my advisor Dr. Conyers, who was also my professor in a few CJ classes, was a great mentor to me and continues to be a great asset to Marist.

Let's talk about your four years as a Running Red Fox. You and your teammates accomplished a lot during that time. What are your fondest memories of that period?

The thing that comes to mind is getting second at MAACs junior year.  Our freshman year we did not have a good MAAC meet, so it was awesome to get back to second with our grade contributing so much.  It was a tight race so finally getting word that we got second and the celebration that ensued is something I'll never forget.  Other than that, I had one of the better races of my career at Bucknell my junior year in the 5k under the lights.  Bucknell was always my favorite meet because it usually had great weather and it was a meet that Lehigh and Adelphi both attended where I had close friends on their teams.    

What have you been doing athletically since you graduated and do you plan on resuming competitive running when more races start happening again?

I still work out once or twice every day, but running has been steadily declining since college.  These days I run 2-3 miles, 2-3 times a week.  The most I've run since college is actually work related; first as a recruit in my agency's law enforcement academy and then as a physical fitness instructor in that same academy.  I'd sign up for a charity 5k or something, but don't see myself training seriously any time soon.  To answer the question I get most often, I have no interest in running a marathon any time soon.  Never say never though.

If you could talk to the 18-year-old version of yourself when you were a senior in high school, what advice or words of wisdom would you give to the young Toner?

I would tell myself not to take running so seriously.  I don't mean to put less effort into it, but when I wasn't running well, which, let's face, it was often, I would let it get to me away from practice and meets.  The good memories outweigh the bad ones as I type this today, so I would just say to enjoy it as much as possible and not take it so seriously.

As you know, last year's seniors lost the last few months of their college careers and this year's seniors are going through similar challenges. What message can you impart to them?

Last year’s seniors were the last class that I went to school with, but I know a few seniors now pretty well.  I'd just say that in the long-term the good memories will outshine the disappointments they experienced/are experiencing.  Running is a unique sport that can continue after college so I look forward to seeing some great results from them in the future.  I also look forward to hearing about their successes in other aspects of life through a, hopefully, post-pandemic paper series?    

How has the pandemic affected your professional and personal life and where do you see it going in the short- and long-term future? Will you be one of the first ones to get the vaccine?

I talked about how it has affected me professionally in an earlier question, so I'll talk personally.  My neighborhood in Brooklyn was one of the hardest hit in the city back in March when we didn't know as much as we do now.  It was definitely more nerve-wrecking back then than it is now, but I make sure to socially distance, wear masks, and wash my hands often.  I've been going to the office every other week for a few months now.  I am able to take the NYC ferry which is significantly less crowded than the subway which has been nice.  Hoping we can get back to "normal" in the late summer like the news has been saying.  I don't think I will be one of the first categories to get the vaccine because of my job if that's what you’re asking; but I will jump on the first opportunity to get it when it is available to me.

Anything else you'd like to add ...

Thanks for including me in the series!  It's been fun reading the other entries from people I know/met/heard of.  Special shout out to my Dad and Aunt Jodi who are avid blog readers to this day, even though its long since passed the time where I'm featured.