Stillwater senior Zack Basnett leads from the top

[Editor’s note: This week the Daily Inter Lake will profile standout graduates among the class of 2018 who exemplify the role of “student mentors.”]

By MACKENZIE REISS

Daily Inter Lake

At Stillwater Christian School, he’s known as Big Papa.

Zack Basnett, 18, earned the nickname for his penchant for taking the lead and mentoring others — both on and off the sports field.

“I try to be a friend to everyone and bring people together,” Basnett said.

Between his roles as team captain of the school’s soccer and basketball teams, and participation in multiple school choirs and bands, Basnett has certainly had opportunities to make a difference.

“I was doing my best to lead by example,” he said of being a team captain. “When times were hard or we were down in a game, I would try to stay positive and be encouraging people and be kind of like a fire for our team.”

His leadership position on the court allowed him to get to know the underclassmen too — it’s not just class against class, it’s about the entire school working together.

“I really loved the interaction I had with all the people on all three of those teams and the relationships that grew from that,” he said, “spending every morning competing with these people and working hard and working through some struggles throughout the season.”

Teammate, Caleb Cole-Tinkham, 15, is a freshman at Stillwater and said he’s learned a lot from Basnett.

“He’s kind of been like a big brother to me. I’m the oldest in my family so I don’t have a big brother, so I look up to him and have learned from mistakes from he’s made or wisdom that he can give me,” Cole-Tinkham said. “I’ve learned to always stick things out even if you mess up you have a second chance, and when you get that second chance, take it and make the best of it.”

It’s a lesson that Basnett knows all to well. Earlier this year, he was caught with a forbidden substance and had to deal with the consequences.

“When I was first called out for it, my initial reaction was embarrassment and shame, especially talking to people that I looked up to and I looked to as mentors … talking to them was just mortifying. It was just really hard to try to ask for forgiveness,” he said. “I’m put in this esteemed position of being captain and being a role model. I’m supposed to be the standard for everyone, just to see that I didn’t live up to that and [parents] trusted their kids to me in a way — that was the most frustrating part for me.”

But Basnett was determined not to let one misstep define him and has since worked to earn back the trust of the Stillwater Christian community. In doing so, he’s also learned about the power of forgiveness.

“I was just afraid it would be instant judgment from the whole school … but instead I received a lot of grace from everyone,” Basnett said.

In late April, he gave back to his classmates by helping to organize a men’s retreat at a cabin on the North Fork.

“Our main focus was what it means to be a man and what it means to leave a legacy. The things that go with manhood — eventually being a father, being a husband, just the integrity that goes with that,” he said.

Those tenants of manhood and leadership are things Basnett keeps close at heart as he takes the next step in his life, leaving the school where he’s studied and grown since kindergarten. After graduation, he’s planning to marry his high school sweetheart, Katie Wilkey, and after working through the summer, will begin college to pursue a career in mechanical engineering.

But for those underclassmen he’ll be leaving behind, Basnett has one last pearl of wisdom to offer: “Be yourself because I don’t think you can really be happy with your high school experience unless you’re being yourself.”

Reporter Mackenzie Reiss may be reached at 758-4433 or mreiss@dailyinterlake.com.