UM political science senior Brian Zak coached Regents School team to victory
Brian Zak has enjoyed his share of memorable achievements during his tenure as an undergraduate student at the University of Mississippi.
From excelling as a political science student to working as a leader of a student publication focusing on national security issues, the native of Western Springs, Illinois, has excelled at whatever task he has undertaken. Zak, a Provost Scholar and member of the Croft Institute for International Studies, also is graduating with a minor in intelligence and security studies.
Yet the most personally gratifying experience from the past four years involved helping the lacrosse team at Regents School of Oxford become the best in their division, he said.
“In my first year of being a head coach for the Regents fifth/sixth team, we went undefeated before COVID,” Zak said. “The program didn’t have a ton of resources and there was very little lacrosse experience across the board.
“But working together and turning the group of kids into a solid and successful team is something I’m really proud of.”
Humble Beginnings
Zak’s lacrosse coaching skills were being honed long before he arrived on campus.
“I played in high school, but also started coaching for the town’s program at the time,” Zak said. “My boss and coaching mentor at the time, Mike Thuma, passed away after a battle with cancer in 2018.
“I decided that the best way to carry on his legacy and the impact he had on me would be to find a way to continue coaching in Mississippi. I sent out a bunch of emails right away and ended up finding a fantastic opportunity at Regents.”
Regents’ last game before the pandemic shut down the season was against a team in Collierville, Tennessee, that had a well-established program.
“All the kids showed up with matching gear bags and helmets, and my team looked slightly more ragtag,” Zak said. “The kids were nervous to play a team from Memphis for the first time, where the sport has a much larger presence, but we came out and actually beat them pretty soundly.
“I remember seeing the entire demeanor of the team change. The kids realized that their success wasn’t a fluke or a result of only playing teams from Mississippi. They had actually put in the work and the effort to be successful together.”
As philanthropy chair for Beta Theta Pi fraternity, Zak helped raise more than $11,000 during RebelTHON, an annual dance marathon fundraiser for Children’s Hospital of Mississippi in Jackson.
“It was really cool to see so many different groups of people come together to work toward a great cause and have an absolute blast doing it,” Zak said. “It was definitely a long haul, but one I look back fondly upon.”
Zak’s efforts were recognized when he was named the Fraternity and Sorority Leadership Community Servant of the Year.
“I really pride myself in all the involvement I’ve had with philanthropy and community service here at Ole Miss,” he said. “I’ve spent a lot of time giving back to the community and to be recognized for that was a great honor.”
Rising to the Occasion
When COVID-19 caused the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies to cancel this year’s Days of Intrigue – an annual national security simulation for students in the intelligence and security studies minor – Zak came up with an idea to conduct a virtual panel discussion on foreign intelligence influence operations, specifically Russia’s disinformation campaigns.
“I thought it was a fantastic idea and let him run with the idea,” said Shaio Zerba, CISS director. “With minimal direction and supervision from me, Brian organized and implemented the entire event. He found the guest panelists, created the marketing and moderated the event.
“Because of Brian’s efforts, the virtual panel was a tremendous success. His virtual panel was a great representation of what CISS and students in the ISS minor bring to the campus and the community.”
The panel was just one way Zak found to go above and beyond with his college experiences – even throughout a global pandemic, he said.
“I know everyone my age has similar stories about the massive shift in expectations for their senior year,” he explained. “Despite that, I feel like I really made the most of my time here even if it was limited by the virus.”
Zak also has been a leader of the Ole Miss Center for Open Source Analysis, a student publication that covers emerging national security issues around the world. The team uses a variety of sources and techniques to present information and analysis of ongoing events that readers might not find in mainstream media.
The group has consistently published quality products for the last three years. When Harry Coker, executive director of the National Security Administration, visited the center last year, the Center for Open Source Analysis group gave him a briefing book of some of the products they had written.
Mentors and Memories
Like any graduating senior, Zak has favorite professors he has studied under over the past four years. Among his favorites are Ashleen Williams, instructor and Senior Barksdale Fellow in the Croft Institute for International Studies and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College; Wesley Yates, instructional assistant professor in the CISS; and Darren Grem, associate professor of history and Southern studies in the Center for the Study of Southern Culture.
“Dr. Williams had a variety of really interesting classes and really pushed everyone in the class to excel and improve throughout the course,” he said. “I left all of her classes really satisfied with what I learned and how I grew.”
Yates was the professor Zak worked most closely throughout his time in the intelligence minor.
“I found a really solid mentor and adviser throughout my time with the program,” Zak said. “He’s a great guy with great experiences to share with students.”
Zak took Grem’s History of Southern Music class on a whim during a winter session.
“I left really thrilled with the course,” Zak said. “He was a great professor, really engaged with the class and set all of his students up to further pursue the subject after the end of the class.”
Story by Edwin Smith/University Marketing & Communications
