Learning Full Circle: An Introduction to Z’hanie Weaver

Z’hanie Weaver is well-versed in the unconventional.

“Nothing in my life is normal” stands as the prelude to what has happened so far in Weaver’s life.

“Normal,” as defined by Weaver, is not having to worry about family problems, danger or staying in school – adversities that her family has faced for three generations, molds that this 16-year-old rising senior is in the process of breaking.

Weaver was born in Renton yet started her academic journey in Spokane. She was a “troublemaker” until she was introduced to her fifth-grade teacher, Derek McIalwain, at Holmes Elementary School. McIalwain mentored her from a student so terrified of public speaking that she would rather take zeros than present in front of the class, to the “only fifth-grader with an ambitious 20-year plan,” Weaver said.

Weaver kept moving. She finished elementary school in her mother’s custody in Des Moines, Washington. She then attended two different middle schools before starting at Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way, only to return to the area of Spokane – Spangle – for her upperclassmen years at Liberty High School.

This return was more than just another relocation. Following issues with her biological parents, Weaver moved in with McIalwain, who again took the role of mentor to her.

“It’s not the moving around that impacted me, per se; it’s the people,” Weaver said.

When Weaver first set her sights on college, it was with STEM in mind; later, she explains, she realized she “liked the letters” more than anything – which brings us to her internship at The Spokesman-Review, her goal being “to give people a voice.”

Weaver’s background plays a big role in her actions today and her plans for the future.

”I was raised to follow rules,” Weaver said. “And journalism breaks every single rule.”

Weaver plans to triple-major: journalism, English composition and French, with a minor in 18th -century European history, soon followed by her pursuit of a law degree. Weaver then hopes to tackle injustices against youth through journalism, juvenile defense and family law.

“Normal” is something Weaver is “still coming to terms with,” and she’s in the process of finding it as a commitment to stability for herself while also pursuing justice for others.

“I want people who have a story to know their story matters, along with their voice.”