On March 27, 2009, a student at Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES’ Tech Center in Yorktown had a near-death experience. Little did he know that his guardian angel was there in the same workshop with him, in the form of a caring classmate. The student was taking a breakfast break along with his classmates in the Small Engines Class, enjoying a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich. Classmate Zachary Heady, a 17-year-old Putnam Valley High School senior, noticed that something was wrong when the young man put his hands to his throat, the universal sign for choking. Zach later told teachers that he could see the student was struggling and needed help, so Zach responded and performed the Heimlich maneuver, at which point his teacher said he had saved a life, and notified the main office at BOCES. The Tech Center immediately made an announcement of Zach’s heroic action over the PA system.

Stephen Lowery, the Principal of the Putnam Northern Westchester BOES Tech Center, later commented, “Zach was a life saver for his fellow student and we are all very proud of him.” Jonathan Bryant, principal of PVHS, added,“The Putnam Valley High School community is extremely proud of Zach for his quick response to an otherwise life-threatening situation and we offer him our congratulations!” Zach is the son of Robert and Sue Heady of Putnam Valley and would like to own his own business one day. Grace Bisogne, one of his teachers at PVHS concluded, “I think we need to celebrate the heroic steps Zach took to make a difference and get involved when the situation called for it.”