Zac DeMaeyer dove straight into life at Seneca Polytechnic and never looked back.

He's led his peers to victory as captain of the extramural men's hockey team. He gives back to the institution by volunteering at campus events. He's even decided to lengthen his stay at Seneca.

Mr. DeMaeyer recently followed a pathway from the Police Foundations program to the Honours Bachelor of Crime & Intelligence Analysis program, providing him with a cost-effective and efficient way of earning both a diploma and a degree.

He discusses his experiences at Seneca, the supports he's received for his learning disability and why he wants to work in law enforcement. 

I want to make the world a better place and help my community. I'm very involved in the community in Markham, and I'd love to be able to give back to the community that's done so much for me. I like the prospect of helping people who are in need.

My forensics class really opened my eyes to the different jobs in forensics. It was forensics and crime scene analysis, so it was like a precursor to my degree program. I learned a little bit of crime analysis but mostly learned about all the different careers that are involved in identifying bodies and piecing together crime scenes.

A pathway is usually a four-year program — you do two years in the diploma, and then two years in the degree. That's what I'm starting to do now. I'll end up with a degree — the same as if I went to university — and I'll have had more fun.

I've learned through my program and through hockey that I'm more of a leader than I thought I was. I'm better able to help people. In group projects, I take the lead and help people get their work done.

I've played hockey in Markham since I was three. I'm going into my third year coaching for the Markham Waxers minor hockey organization and I'm also a referee. At Seneca, I'm captain of the men's extramural hockey team. I thought when I was done minor hockey that I wouldn't be able to play anymore, so it's cool to have the team here. There are countless sports at Seneca, whether that's at varsity level or extramural or intramural — we have tons of sports. It's given me a lot of opportunities in leadership roles and it's helped me grow as a person.

Meeting new people in my program and making friends that I will probably have for quite a long time. Just this past January, our men's hockey team beat Fanshawe in the finals of a tournament, which was pretty cool because we were not a team that people expected a lot out of. We played four games in 10 hours. We won a tournament and that was huge for the whole team.

I used Accessibile Learning Services. I met with one of the co-ordinators and she helped me branch over my IEP from high school to Seneca with an accommodation sheet. I get access to software to help me write, and extra time on tests because I usually run out of time.

My entire life, my family has taught me that you should never stop trying and never give up. I think that is extremely important to the person that I am today. You don't quit, you just keep going until you get your desired outcome. Even if you don't get the desired outcome, knowing that you tried your best is all that matters.

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