Ex-Marine Zach Iscol '97 Wins Prestigious John Phillips Award

The Academy Trustees and the General Alumni Association (GAA) honored decorated Marine Corp officer, Iraq War veteran and entrepreneur Zach Iscol ’97 with the 2017 John Phillips Award at last Friday’s Assembly. The speech earned him a standing ovation and attracted many students to his Latin Study luncheon that afternoon.

The award is granted annually to an Exonian who exemplifies John Phillip’s ideals of goodness and knowledge and who has contributed to the welfare of the Exeter community and beyond since his or her graduation. According to GAA head Wole Coaxum ’88, Iscol stood out as “an unstoppable force for good.”

 “Zach is an ambassador of compassion, an entrepreneur of hope and the embodiment of non sibi.”

Since his graduation from the Academy, Iscol studied political science at Cornell University and served as a pilot before pursuing a military career in 2001. He completed two tours in Iraq and was awarded a Bronze Star for Valor; he had other assignments throughout Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia in the infantry and special operations. After his deployment, Iscol founded the Headstrong Project, a nonprofit that funds and develops comprehensive mental health care programs to treat Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Iscol is also the founder and CEO of Hire Purpose, a technology start-up that provides personalized career guidance to veterans and military service members and created the military news and culture online site, Task and Purpose.

Iscol connected his success in combat to his Exeter experience. His interactions with his Main Street hall roommate familiarized him with Islamic culture. This familiarity proved invaluable during the Second Battle of Fallujah, when Iscol led 30 American soldiers and 250 members of the Iraqi national guard in the bloodiest battle of the Iraq War. “He taught me to say As-Salaam-Alaikum, and I taught him to say Shalom,” Iscol remembered. “That small window into Islam so different than the way Muslims are portrayed in media opened the door for me to forge deeper relationships with my Iraqi soldiers and with religious and tribal leaders.”

He also emphasized the importance of empathy and understanding during conflict, two values he developed with his Harkness education. “There is something special about [Exeter] where people come together at a round table from so many different backgrounds,” Iscol said. “It’s a place to listen, argue, let ideas stand on their own, challenge each other and grow from it. Listening and deliberating is the first step towards bridging differences and resolving conflict.”

Prep Nam Nguyen appreciated Iscol’s humility and the pertinence of his message. “Mr. Iscol was humble despite everything he accomplished on and off the battlefield, risking his life multiple times.” he said. “I also found his speech very relevant and relatable. His words of selflessness, consideration and understanding can be carried into everyday life.”

Lower Ramyanee Mukherjee shared Nguyen’s sentiment. “I was so impressed by his courage and capacity for caring,” she said. “He took the school motto non sibi past his Exeter career, holding on to it in Iraq and continuing his social service today, helping veterans recover from war and start anew.”

Iscol closed his speech by addressing the post-deployment plight of veterans. According to the Research and Development (RAND) Center for Military Health Policy Research, 20 percent of veterans who served in either Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from either major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, and 19.5 percent of veterans in these two categories have experienced a traumatic brain injury. Even without mental illness, many veterans struggle to readjust to society.

“I knew something was wrong when 33 members of my third battalion died in combat and 23 committed suicide after they were deployed,” Iscol remembered. “For many veterans, the wounds of war are hidden. They lose a friend, face the tough and impossible choices of war, shoulder the pain and guilt of making it back home. They face a mental battle even when they return.”

Jane Melvin ’80, a member of the Awards Committee, commended Iscol’s unrelenting support for fellow veterans. “Zach’s story is not a story of one but a story of so many. He literally put his life on the line, time and time again, for his fellow soldiers, for this country and for the greater good. When he finished his service on the front lines of war, he didn't walk away,” she said. “In true Exeter fashion, he thought about the lessons of war. The questions are complex and he still continues to learn from what he went through, thinking about ways to make positive change.”

Coaxum agreed. “Zach is an ambassador of compassion, an entrepreneur of hope and the embodiment of non sibi.”