Most days, Donald Zárate wakes up before the sun to exercise or go on a hike, carrying a weighted 45-pound backpack. 

The remainder of his days are filled with classes for his doctoral degree at UC Riverside, leading meetings as president of UCR’s national political science honors society or working as a graduate student assistant. Currently Zárate also volunteers with UCR’s Reserve Officer Training Corps, or ROTC, learning how to be an officer and help cadets improve their socialization as soldiers in the U.S. Army. Occasionally he also joins his Honor Guard colleagues who volunteer at military funerals at Riverside National Cemetery. 

It’s a slice of Zárate’s life as a political science student and staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve. His plan is to become a professor of political theory for the United States Military Academy at West Point, a goal that couples a desire to serve that emerged in high school with a passion for history and politics fueled by courses he took at Norco College.

“My desire to serve in the armed forces came from my belief that if someone lives somewhere, they should be willing to help that community in times of need,” said Zárate, 27, who in 2023 obtained dual UCR bachelor’s degrees in political science and psychology. 

While he was a student at Norco College, Zárate grew to love academia.

“We were learning about the Roman Empire and what interested me was how Romans structured their government,” he said. “In essence, they used psychology to manipulate groups to pacify them into submission. As a person on the autism spectrum, the class helped me understand that people are different, and that’s ok. That’s part of what makes me an individual, a whole person.” 

Owning your story is crucial, Zárate said. 

Throughout his time at UCR, Zárate has participated in the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps Fellowship, completing his 450 service hours at several schools, including Taft and Fremont elementary schools in Riverside. College Corps is a California community service program designed to create debt-free college pathways for low-income students who commit to serve in one of three priority areas: K-6 education, climate action, and food insecurity. 

Two summers ago, Zárate worked with transitional kindergarten students. He was supporting Fremont Elementary teacher Amy Coleman by taking a group of 5-year-olds to read from the picture book “Not A Box” by Antoinette Portis. His students came from diverse backgrounds, some more quiet than others, but all intrigued and focused on Zárate’s animated reading voice. Working with children of diverse cultural backgrounds was a great way to put into practice what he had learned in one of his undergrad classes regarding group attitudes, racial bias, and social identity, a course taught by Kalina Michalska, associate professor of psychology.

Combining his academic training and physical vigor has been crucial to completing two bachelor’s degrees and concentrating on his doctoral research while balancing monthly and annual trainings with the Army Reserve.   

This balancing act is no small feat, said Tami Thacker, director of UCR’s Veterans Resource Center, where Zárate has spent many hours studying. 

“The aspect that differentiates a student who is truly deserving of scholastic opportunities is a deep commitment to helping the community upon completion of the degree. Donald is certainly the most prepared student that I have dealt with,” Thacker said. “This type of purpose and focus is required of all students who aim to succeed at a university and beyond. His experience with working on many projects while being a student veteran weighs heavily on him and is not only tough, but also time consuming. Donald is a student, veteran, and a remarkable person.”

In addition to being an active participant with UCR’s Veterans Resource Center and conducting research with various faculty, including qualitative research and open-source data analysis for the Transnational Labor Alliances Database Project led by UCR associate professor Marissa Brookes, Zárate is focused on his own political science research. In 2024 he traveled to Sweden and Mexico to present papers. This year he will present “A General Theory of Intentional Community Formation” at the Midwestern Political Science Association’s annual meeting in Chicago. 

His dedication has earned him many accolades, awards, and fellowships. He is the recipient of several scholarships, ranging from $225 to $5,000, as well as the prestigious UCR College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Dean’s Distinguished fellowship for $29,000. 

Zárate’s accomplishments transcend into his own family as he will become the first to obtain a doctoral degree.  

Zárate said his grit and his drive were modeled at home by his mother, Stephanie Nazir. Nazir, now 56, enrolled at Mt San Antonio College to start her career in nursing school three months after giving birth to Zárate and his twin. At age 40 she obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of Phoenix.   

On a recent weekend, Zárate visited his mom at her Eastvale home. They made guacamole and chatted while he did loads of laundry. Nazir refers to her son as DJ, short for Donald, Jr.   

“I’m amazed at all he’s done. I knew he had it in him,” said Nazir, adding that Zárate’s twin graduated from UC Irvine and her youngest son, Mattox Zárate, graduated high school in 2024. “Once DJ came out [as gay] and once we found out he had autism, his whole world changed. DJ always marched to the beat of his own drum … he was walking, falling, and getting back up at 9 months old. I would say he’s very driven.”