"To this day, I'm still involved in UMBC. To this day, I still talk to many of the people involved in the athletic program... We look at UMBC as still the team. We give back because we're motivated by that camaraderie, that family spirit that comes from doing something together."

UMBC: Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became interested in pediatrics.

MZ: I've been in private practice for about 16 years. I built my practice in 1988 after I left my residency at Sinai Hospital, where they had a community-based pediatric residency program, and I was able to start my own practice. Through that, I was able to come back to serve the Northwest Baltimore community where I grew up. I've been in this community since I was about five years old.

My father was also a pediatrician. He died when I graduated from high school, so it's a never-ending struggle to come back and replace what he had done in his period of time here in the area. I didn't know I'd become a pediatrician, but I always knew I wanted to be a doc.

UMBC: What made you select UMBC for your pre-med studies?

MZ: When my father died as I was graduating from Northwestern High School, I wanted to stay near home, so UMBC became an option. Initially, I wanted to go to North Carolina or some other school, but I didn't pursue it much when his illness became apparent. I knew I could find a local place where I could do my thing, and UMBC became a great option, especially after talking about athletics with Jim Pfrogner, who was the track coach at the time.

UMBC: Did you know upon entering UMBC that you would continue your athletic career there?

MZ: Oh, no question. I was one of the top runners in the state at the time in the mile and the two-mile and cross-country, too. I spoke to Coach Pfrogner about my interest in staying local. UMBC didn't have a track, and we had to travel to Catonsville to run, but we made the best of it.

UMBC: So what was your experience as a student-athlete during those years?

MZ: When I go around the country to talk with academically gifted kids, I tell them to look at life and balance themselves. So what I tried to do was do as much as I could do, touch as many people and experiences as I could, and track became one of them. As I said, it was difficult for the team because you had to travel then, but it gave it a different twist. That first, core group of athletes had to do something different because UMBC wasn't a school geared toward athletics.

It was fun and challenging. I went through the pre-med program there and it was difficult. In fact, UMBC was always viewed as one of the most difficult places, academically, so it was not an easy ride. I was probably the first or second minority student to finish the program and go on through medical school. It was a real hardship back then, but we made the best of it. We were like pioneers. We had very little. If it wasn't for us, you might not have seen the rest of the guys come along.

I also did very well in track. I was part of one of the record-setting, two-mile relay teams - the record stood for several years. I was the unsung hero in cross-country and I was the fourth or fifth man in cross-country. One year I made All-Conference in cross-country, the same year I won the unsung hero award.

The biology/pre-med program was so demanding, by my junior year running became a hassle. One night I stayed out late with the guys bowling the night before a race and I was convinced I wouldn't run the next day. The race was at 8 a.m. and I got in at about 5 a.m. Somehow I managed to pull a muscle in my back bowling and I was dying. I told the coach I couldn't run; my back was too painful. He said he'd massage it, but I said it wouldn't help. Finally, I figured I'd do it anyway even though I knew I wouldn't do well that day.

We went up and down the fire trails on this really grueling course by Loch Raven Reservoir, and I just couldn't stop - I ran faster than I'd run in my life! I was running everyone down! That's when I made it to the top ten in the cross-country conference that year. From that moment of saying, 'I don't want to do this,' but I did it anyway. That's what life was like back then. You just did it for the team.

UMBC: Looking back at that time in your life, how do you think sports affected your life?

MZ: It's been invaluable. To this day, I'm still involved in UMBC. To this day, I still talk to many of the people involved in the athletic program. It really gave me a sense of camaraderie with people, a sense of something to work for. It really gave me all the intangibles I needed to finish out becoming a physician, because you'd been through it all and knew what you had to draw on. You needed to have that break from academics, but at the same time, it drew you into a competitive thing where you need to finish the task. Especially with distance running. You couldn't just stop out there. You had to go out there and keep going for your team. I kept running all the way through medical school. I ran until I graduated.

I can't speak too passionately about it. Having a coach like Coach Pfrogner was invaluable, too. He was a mentor, and he gave you a sense of pride. He was one of the most tremendous athletes I've ever known and a great person to learn from.

UMBC: Your community involvement is extensive - what role does that play in your life?

MZ: I sit on the board of several Head Start programs, I help with some of the elementary schools, I've played a large role in the Center for Talented Youth program at Johns Hopkins, and I've been involved with them for 12 to 15 years. I give keynote addresses for them every year. I think I bring a different twist to things. I tell them I don't think I'm super brilliant, but I'm not dumb either. I survived, and I'm trying to teach others to survive. I don't think to be good in life is about education, per se, but about educating one's self. I push the message to be the best you can be; that you can attack academics like a team, like you'd attack a track race. My life shows you can do it.

It's like that story I told about going to that race when I wasn't motivated to do anything that day. It shows you that no matter what your situation, you can get up and do it. I did the best I could and I ended up excelling. I tell kids you can fall into that pothole, but the successful person gets back up.

UMBC: Student athletes have a strong tradition of "giving back." In your opinion, how do the lessons of athletics lead to a life of community participation?

MZ: What gels UMBC or any institution is the spirit, the energy that comes from being with a group of individuals. They became your family and when your family needs help you're willing to help. It's not about going out and getting something because you're an athlete - none of us were world-class athletes - we did it for the sake of the group. The team was your life, forever.

We look at UMBC as still the team. We give back because we're motivated by that camaraderie, that family spirit that comes from doing something together. One could not accomplish what he did without the support of the group.