Alumni | Business and Industry | Intrepid AmbitionMarch 18, 2025

Zack Gramlich: Leading from Home

Written By: Rachel Putman

On a Wednesday afternoon, Zack Gramlich guides his students through a physics workshop making paper airplanes. The students are locked in, watching Gramlich carefully and eagerly smoothing the folds on their neon paper, wondering whose will fly furthest down the granite hallways of Darby Junior High. Gramlich incorporates action into his lessons because he knows that to push past the limits of what they’ve been told is possible, these intrepid students need to first be engaged.

Eighty-seven percent of the students at Darby are classified as economically disadvantaged. Nearly all qualify for free or reduced lunch, and for some, that’s the only meal they’re sure they’ll eat.

For Gramlich, these statistics are a powerful motivator. His students haven’t had the easiest path, he explains, but they are the kind of kids who can change the world one day. And that belief is why he teaches.

It’s also why he ran for office.

He says service isn’t about choosing between two paths—it’s about forging one where he stands. As both a middle school teacher and a state legislator, he wants to prove that you don’t have to leave Fort Smith to make a difference. Change, he insists, starts at home.

The classroom and the state house may seem worlds apart, but for Gramlich, they are deeply connected.

At Darby Middle School, he teaches students STEM, but he also teaches the power of possibility. Hydroponics, aerodynamics, engineering—he doesn’t just explain obscure math and theory; he helps his students build and create. He shows them the meaning behind the concepts.

“All students can learn," he says. " It's my job to do what I can to make sure students unlock their potential.”

His goal isn’t just to prepare his students for the next test. It’s to prepare them for the world beyond the classroom and to help them see their own potential.

Gramlich is driven by a deep belief that students—especially those from overlooked or underserved communities—deserve a real shot at success. “Intelligence and virtue are the safeguards of liberty,” he often says, quoting a guiding principle.

That same passion drives his work in the Arkansas House of Representatives.

“Fort Smith needs a representative who knows how to put others first,” he says. “I was raised in a family that valued hard work and service, and I want to bring that mindset to the statehouse.”

Now serving his second term representing District 50, Gramlich sits on the House Public Health, Welfare, and Labor Committee, the House Insurance and Commerce Committee, and the Joint Budget Committee. His legislative priorities mirror what he sees in his classroom: the need for better educational opportunities, policies that give families choices, and economic growth that uplifts all Arkansans.

“I serve the people of Fort Smith. From the unhoused to the CEOs, manufacturers to doctors, business leaders to school teachers." he says. "My mission is to make sure the policies we enact bring prosperity and opportunity to the people. My goal is to the have my children's children raise a family here and I'm going to do what I can to make an environment to make that happen.  .”

Growing up, Gramlich felt like he had two choices: to make an impact in the world or to stay in Fort Smith.

UAFS changed that perspective for him. “My time at UAFS taught me that I didn’t have to choose,” he says. “It sparked a belief that change starts right where you are, in your own community.”

That’s why he never left. Instead, he’s building a future for his family, and for the entire region, from within the city he loves. Whether mentoring students or drafting policy, he is showing that leadership isn’t about leaving—it’s about investing in the place you call home.

“Real change doesn’t mean leaving home. It means leading from it.”

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