Bellevue University graduate Zach Hogge is pushing for equity.
Zach Hogge has seen a lot – both in his career as a U.S. Marine, and now as a firefighter and paramedic. Along the way, the Norfolk, Virginia, native developed a passion for how individuals behave and think in the workplace. He’s taken that one step further by pursuing his Master of Science in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Bellevue University. And now he’s putting what he’s learned to the test by conducting research at his fire department and giving department leaders insight into addressing testing inequities.
Developing a Curiosity for Psychology
Hogge earned his associate’s degree in emergency services and learned about Bellevue University from colleagues while teaching a community college paramedic program.
“Going back to school was something I always wanted to do. I knew it was going to be online because of my work schedule,” he said.
Hogge shopped around and liked that Bellevue University has a brick-and-mortar campus, affordable tuition and scholarships.
“Bellevue University also kept coming up with the best transfer credit opportunities,” he said. “They worked with me, took my credits and most of my textbooks were electronic. Every semester I could find out what scholarship I was eligible for and that really reduced the financial burden. I got a great value out of the money I was paying.”
He was also drawn to the University’s undergraduate leadership program. “Coming from the Marine Corps, I’ve always been interested in leadership studies,” he said. “I’m fascinated by the culture of the Marine Corps.”
Throughout his bachelor’s program, Hogge felt the one class at a time structure set him up for success. ‘It made it easier to balance home, work and school,” he said. “I had to work hard, but my instructors were always there to help and it made me more disciplined. Now, when I run into an obstacle, I’m more likely to face it head on and not be overwhelmed by it because I have a systemic approach in place.”
Hogge completed his Bachelor of Science in Leadership in 2022. Throughout the program, he noticed that much of the research and theories came out of industrial organizational psychology so he decided to learn even more by pursuing his master’s degree in the subject. “I wanted to continue to study leadership and hone my understanding of it – organizational psychology was how to do it,” he said.
Taking Notice and Then Action
One of the most unique parts of Hogge’s experience in the graduate program has been the opportunity to approach his thesis differently. Many of his classmates focused on building surveys, conducting statistical analysis and providing recommendations. Instead, he saw an opportunity to tackle a challenge that was directly impacting his workplace.
“I wanted to do something more applicable to a contemporary issue,” he said. “We were seeing about half of recruits fall out of the fire academy. That adds up to losing about $600,000, which is about the cost of a single fire truck.”
He decided to look into why they are losing so many employees. He found that many are not prepared physically. Digging deeper, he found that there were fewer female candidates.
“We conducted a focused research study to find out why the females are being knocked out of the candidate pool,” he said. They looked at adjusting the test to assess upper body strength in a different way to better predict recruitment outcomes.
Although the modified test didn’t improve pass rates, it gave the department a starting point for continuing to pursue improvement and more equitable testing. “We learned that we just don’t know enough yet,” Hogge said.
Associate Professor and Program Director JoDee Goracke said that even though Hogge’s research didn’t lead to immediate results, his efforts are crucial to future progress.
“Beyond their on-the-ground duties, they have undertaken a significant research project,” she said. “Zach’s work has the potential to not only support gender equity but also enhance the effectiveness and inclusivity of our firefighting teams. The research and passion Zach has brought to his practicum and capstone projects demonstrate the very real impact our students are making in so many different domains and professions.”
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