Cal Poly student found dead on campus identified

Zachary Blanchard

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

Officials have identified Zachary Blanchard as the Cal Poly student who was found dead early Monday morning near a Poly Canyon Village parking structure. Police have determined Blanchard died by suicide.

Blanchard was a biomedical engineering student from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was also a certified pharmacy technician, according to his LinkedIn page.

“When the pandemic left me with extra time on my hands, I studied to become certified as a pharmacy technician. I got my license in time to start working in the COVID vaccine clinics,” Blanchard wrote on his LinkedIn page. “I’m majoring in biomedical engineering, though I’m unsure exactly what I want to work on with the degree.”