NOTE: This is the first edition of the Alumni Spotlight series for the 2024-2025 School Year. Check back monthly for more stories about our successful Sto-Rox alums!
On a steamy August weekend morning, Zay Davis isn’t sitting at home, thinking about his upcoming sophomore year at Slippery Rock University. Instead, he’s at Sto-Rox Jr./Sr. High School, handing out backpacks during the district’s Back To School Celebration. It’s part of an effort by his company - 1WayOut - to support students who are working their way through Sto-Rox students like he used to be.
“I didn't really know that I could do more than just be, you know, a guy from McKees Rocks,” he said during an interview at the event. “It’s all about giving back and, you know, just being a vision for the community.”
Davis graduated from Sto-Rox in 2023. He was accomplished on the football field and in the school. In 2022, he was selected to Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania’s 18 under Eighteen. He was also a Student of the Year Finalist in 2022 for The Challenge Program, guided by district staff including Guidance Counselor Joe Herzing and the mentorship of Oil Service, Inc.’s Tom Langston.
RELATED: Yay, Zay! Junior Selected for 18 Under Eighteen
RELATED: Sto-Rox Students Take ‘The Challenge Program’ Honors
A four-year starter in football, Davis followed his passion for the game to Slippery Rock University. While Davis decided to hang up his helmet after redshirting in 2023, he said it’s the right call.
“From everything I was going through with my first year of football, my freshman year in college, it's like I had to second guess my decision,” said Davis. “I'm a community guy first. So I just wanted to see what I could do with the brand. See what I could do with 1WayOut throughout every season of the year, you know?”
Davis added that even while he was steering the success of 1WayOut throughout high school, he could never really put everything into it. But now he’s putting all of himself into the business while pursuing a major in Leadership Studies.
“It's nice to get the best of both worlds,” said Davis. “You know, being a college student, you meet a lot of new people and stuff like that. So I’ve just been taking advantage of every opportunity I've been getting.”
Davis started 1WayOut when he was at Sto-Rox and continues to build the brand. He’s happy he can still make an impact in his hometown, as evidenced by all the bookbags and school supplies the 1WayDreamTeam delivered to the Back to School Celebration.
“It was just being a group of brothers that was trying to reach for success,” said Davis. “It started in on the (football) field, being teammates with each other. But it was more than that, classroom wise, we were just thinking about what's next and further down the road. That's what made us all get together and start to be a vision for our community, to do better.”
As for the Sto-Rox students who are following in his footsteps on the field and in the classroom, Davis’ advice is simple: Be true to yourself.
“One thing I've learned from my high school (football) coach LaRoi Johnson, I'll say, is just run your own race, man. Don't focus on somebody else's race,” said Davis. “Just focus on you and what you want to do with your life and go at it 100%. Don't give in and give out; just go at it 100%.”
They’re wise words from a young entrepreneur who knows the next generation of Sto-Rox success stories are watching him.
“There's a kid running around right now that he might be in my shoes one day,” said Davis, “and I want to show him what is possible.”
Previous Alumni Spotlights
• Sherine Raymond
• Jason Shuhilo
• Bonnie Gasior
• Leila Quiroz