BOSTON — When almost unimaginable adversity struck Zach Hodges while he was still in high school, his response was always the same: He pressed on.
When his father, grandfather and mother all died before he completed his junior year, his desire to continue his education and play football as a defensive end in college took him on a most uncommon path. He attended four schools in four years: Independence High School in Charlotte, N.C.; Tri-Cities High School in East Point, Ga.; Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H.; and Harvard University.
When he dealt with homelessness and hunger after his mother left a stepfather he described as mentally abusive toward his mother, it only increased his determination to make certain he would never have to do without basic needs again.