Zoe Way
Running Toward a Powerful Future
story by JENNIFER BROWN-CARPENTER photos by SUSAN DELOACH
First Lady Abigail Adams once said, “Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attained to with diligence.” Mrs. Adams understood that we do not just suddenly become educated. We do not just happen upon learning. We have to be placed in its path and then follow that path to the end, sometimes running down the path as fast and as hard as we can. Zoe Way is running down the path of her education with her head up and her eyes toward her future.
Zoe Way is not just a Beaufort native, her roots run deep. Her father’s family has lived in Beaufort for generations, and Zoe was born at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. Her mom, Leah, is a school teacher, and her dad, Jeremy, works for Beaufort County. Zoe has a younger brother, David, who is 10 years old. While most older siblings might balk at having a sibling so much younger than them, Zoe says it has been “so much fun.” Leah has eight siblings, so Zoe also has been blessed with a ton of first cousins. Not only is Zoe the oldest in her immediate family, but she is also the oldest out of all her cousins. A little like a firstborn on steroids!
Zoe started her education at E.C. Montessori & Grade School in Beaufort at around 2 years old. She stayed there until second grade when she transferred to Beaufort Elementary and participated in their Montessori program. She then started attending Lowcountry Montessori School when they opened in 2014 and stayed there through the sixth grade. She went to Beaufort Middle School for seventh and eighth grade. She is now at Battery Creek High School, where she has been her entire high school career.
Education has always played a special part in Zoe’s life, starting at a very young age. With her mom being a teacher, Zoe has often been the first one at school and one of the last to leave. “I’ve always loved to read and that is something that I have always associated with school. It is where my love for reading and learning began.” Not many high school seniors would call their schooling experience, from 2 years old to the present day, a privilege. But that’s what Zoe calls it.
Zoe’s parents never put pressure on Zoe to perform in a certain way. They have always been incredibly supportive of Zoe and that, along with having amazing teachers over the years, has led her to viewing her school experience as a privilege and not a burden.
Zoe has been a dual enrollment student at the Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL) since her junior year of high school. She has also been involved with the Student Council at Battery Creek High School since her sophomore year. Zoe started as Sophomore Class President, became Student Body Vice President her junior year, and is currently the Senior Class President. She was inducted into the National Honor Society in her junior year and is currently the NHS President at Battery Creek.
Battery Creek High School is a “Leader In Me” school. Leader In Me is a global program that encourages students to learn self-reliance, take initiative, plan and set goals, find creative solutions, and much more. Zoe joined the student lead team for the program during her sophomore year and is currently one of three co-leads of the team. Zoe is also one of the co-founders of the Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization (DAYLO) at Battery Creek High School. DAYLO is a student book and service club. In addition, Zoe has been a member of Interact since her junior year and has also been involved in the Creek Wellness Club, and the Health Occupations Students of America.
How does Zoe have the time to make all this happen? “I have to prioritize and decide what I need to make the time for.” One of the best parts of being a dual-enrollment student is that she can take the time she spends learning into her own hands. She realized in her high school years that she was often finishing work early and having free time that was not going toward anything productive. One of the best parts of being at TCL is that she can decide how, when, and where she spends her time for classes. That has played a huge role in being able to do everything else.
Zoe recognizes education as not only a privilege but something that she can have creative control over. She knows that there is so much to be learned in leadership positions in these clubs and programs. To make that happen, and to do it well, Zoe knew she needed to take some things off her plate. Delegation is a skill vital to any successful leader, and something Zoe has been able to hone in on during her leadership roles.
One of the great things about overseeing all the different things that Zoe is running is that she has a say in when and how things happen. Since Battery Creek is a smaller high school, these clubs must communicate as there are students who are involved in multiple clubs. Being president in two clubs, co-lead in one club, vice president in another club, and a member of several other clubs and programs gives Zoe the opportunity to make sure that each club and initiative is given the time and resources that it deserves.
Outside of school, Zoe has been a student for more than six years at Stillness Academy, a defense and development school here in Beaufort. Zoe started taking Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes when she was in the sixth grade. Cesar Clavijo, the owner of Stillness Academy, has been a huge influence on Zoe and has taught her so much during the six-plus years taking classes. He has been one of her biggest mentors and “is family at this point.”
Zoe is also working as an intern at Levin Gilley Fisher & Reid, LLC, a local law firm. She was hired at the end of her sophomore year and does work drafting and processing legal documents, as the law firm primarily focuses on real estate, probate, and estate planning. She covers for the receptionist during her lunch hour, and at the end of the day, Zoe is the courier for any documents that need to go to other offices, banks, law firms, etc.
Zoe has been accepted to the Honors College at the University of South Carolina, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well as Georgetown University. She would like to study public policy and international relations with a long-term goal of becoming an attorney.
She was told often as a child, whether they meant it as a compliment or not, that she “would be a great lawyer.” That stuck with her, throughout all her various interests as a child and teenager. There are so many different facets of law and you can go in countless different directions. Zoe has also been interested in government and politics over the years, even serving as a senator in the 76th Session of Palmetto Girls State, which is a program sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary. That gave her even more of an interest in public policy. “I’m also a people person, and like to hear people’s stories and help them if I can.”
Zoe first interacted with DAYLO at the Beaufort Human Library, which is hosted by the Pat Conroy Literary Center. She volunteered for the event without having any background on it. There, she met Jonathan Haupt, director of the Pat Conroy Literary Center. She left that event feeling inspired and wanted to bring the event to students her age. She left that day with Jonathan’s contact information and would ask him questions and advice. Jonathan led Zoe to join DAYLO. The DAYLO chapter at Battery Creek was officially started in the Fall 2023, serving as a student-led book club and literacy community service group.
Jonathan Haupt, who is one of Zoe’s mentors says, “Zoe is the third consecutive student I’ve mentored to be recognized with the Lighthouse Scholarship of the Foundation for Leadership Education, and she is indeed already a guiding beacon of hope to so many. She boldly seeks out new opportunities to learn and grow, but always with the aspiration to bring others along with her on the journey. My mentor, the late Pat Conroy, believed that having the capacity to help meant having the responsibility to help, and Zoe exemplifies this commitment to servant leadership in a myriad of inspiring and empowering ways in our communities and beyond. I’m endlessly proud of her, and grateful that she is already mentoring others in the same generous spirit that she has been guided and taught by a whole pantheon of us fortunate enough to have been welcomed into her orbit.”
Running down the path of education is not always easy. Just like anything in life, it has its challenges, its hard moments, and there are probably days when Zoe, like the rest of us, is tired. But when you talk to Zoe, you walk away with one thought: “She loves what she does.” Perhaps it is because, instead of viewing her life, her education, and her future, as a burden or a cross to bear… she views it all as a privilege. We could all use a little more of that mindset in our lives.
