Zach Wells

Grassfield Class of 2013

While enrolled at Grassfield, Zach was one of the first students to graduate from the Governor’s STEM Academy specializing in Engineering. In addition to participating in orchestra, he also competed in culinary competitions thanks to Mr. Donn Franklin’s classes and won a spot in a summer program at Johnson and Wales University.

After Grassfield, Zach went on to study Mechanical and Biomedical engineering at Old Dominion University. While there, he applied and was accepted to the Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Program (NUPOC) and completed an intensive 18 month nuclear engineering pipeline before getting assigned to the USS PASADENA (SSN-752), a nuclear powered fast attack submarine.

During his first sea tour, he served as Officer of the Deck for numerous deployment underway periods over 33 months culminating with a 3 month transit from Norfolk, VA to the North Pole and back. You can even find him on YouTube speaking about his time on the submarine in the arctic in a Physics Girl special. During this time, he also married his wife, Stephanie and they adopted a Golden Retriever named Otis.

Most recently, Zach served as the Director of Cybersecurity aboard the Navy’s 6th Fleet Flagship, USS MOUNT WHITNEY (LCC 20) stationed in Gaeta, Italy where he led National Security Agency (NSA) – regulated programs at the Top Secret level. While there, he completed his Master of Engineering Management from Duke University and is most thankful for the opportunity to work and study in 20 countries in 2 years.

Zach is in the process of resigning from the Navy and is waiting to hear back from MBA programs as he is targeting MIT. Following his MBA, Zach plans to transition to Investment Banking.

Jayne Files (Cottrell)

Grassfield High School Class of 2013

Jayne is a proud alumna of the Grassfield High School Orchestra from 2009-2013, where she tried her best to play the viola!

After graduating high school in 2013, Jayne went on to the United States Naval Academy and began her military career. She received a Bachelor of Science in English, and commissioned as a United States Marine Corps officer in 2017.

After her commissioning, Jayne completed The Basic School in 2018, earned her Naval Aviator Wings in 2020, and has since qualified as an instructor pilot in the UH-1Y “Huey” helicopter! She has spent the past four years stationed on both the East and West Coast, and has participated in multiple deployments as a Huey pilot. Her favorites were to NATO exercise Cold Response in Norway, and to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in Japan!

Jayne and her husband Thom (and their new puppy, Gus!) are currently stationed back in sunny Pensacola, Florida as instructor pilots dedicated to training future Naval Aviators. She is currently using her English degree to teach flight students Aerodynamics and loves being back by the beach!