CAMPUSPEAK

What would you do if you won a million dollars? What Ethan Zohn did might surprise you.

Before he became an instant celebrity for winning Survivor: Africa, Ethan Zohn played soccer professionally for teams in both the United States and Zimbabwe. He thought his previous experience in Africa would help him on the reality show, but it didn’t really give him an edge.

It did remind him of the tremendous problems facing most African countries in terms of poverty, corrupt governments and most devastatingly, the AIDS crisis. After this reminder, when it came time to decide what to do with his newly acquired million and his fifteen minutes of fame, Ethan’s decision was easy.

In Africa, the most popular sport by far is soccer. Since Ethan has experience in that arena, he decided to use his money and notoriety to help provide AIDS education, using African role models—soccer players—to teach children about HIV and AIDS.

Ethan played soccer in Zimbabwe for a year and decided to base Grassroot Soccer there because there was such a high need. The average life expectancy in Zimbabwe was 63 years old in 1990 and only 39 years in 2000. By 2010, more than 35 percent of all kids in the country are expected to be AIDS orphans.

• Keynotes

• Character: The Ultimate Survival Tool

Character: The Ultimate Survival Tool

In his keynote, Ethan delves deeply into the issue of character with his audience: where it comes from, why it matters and how it can help them make important decisions in their lives.

Ethan relates the character-building moments in his own life from his father’s death when he was 14, to experiences he had on the soccer field and in college, to illustrate how character is built and why it is important to develop, nurture and refine our character.

“You never know when you will need the reserves of your character, but when you do, you better be sure you are up to the challenge,” he said.

Character is difficult to define, but Ethan puts it into terms that students can relate to, and he sprinkles in personal stories from Survivor as well as other times in his life.

Many of us assume these days that in order to win—at Survivor or at life—we have to compromise our values, dominate our rivals, control every situation and be willing to do whatever it takes to succeed no matter the cost to other people. But the truth is that strong character—the values of honesty, integrity, friendship and honor—are as important in today’s society as ever.

“Most people believe that to win Survivor you have to check your integrity at the door, but I disagree.”

Ethan says that as in life, Survivor is really all about community.

“When you make yourself a valuable and contributing member of the community, and allow people to depend on you, they are always interested in keeping you around and in helping you in return.”

More than just another of today’s instant celebrities, Ethan is truly a man of character, interested in helping those in need and speaking to students about their unique opportunities to use their talents for others.

Ethan's Bio

In August 2008, Ethan officially launched Grassroot Soccer UNITED an international, youth-led movement to raise money and build awareness for his foundation and mission to end HIV/AIDS in Africa, by embarking on a world-record-breaking 550-mile journey on foot, from Boston, MA, to Washington, DC—dribbling a soccer ball the entire route. Ethan is also the national spokesperson for America Scores, an organization that helps inner city kids participate in educational soccer programs. Other extensive charity work includes the Colon Cancer Alliance, Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organization (IREO), Autism Speaks, St. Jude Hospital and Maccabi USA.

In May 2009—less than 30 days after his diagnoses with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma was made public on the cover of People Magazine—Ethan was asked to serve as National Ambassador for “Stand Up 2 Cancer” and to stand in for Lance Armstrong as the keynote speaker for all of his LiveStrong Challenge Races while Lance was competing in the Tour de France. Most recently, Ethan was asked to be a panelist for the Clinton Global Initiative University Series starting in April 2010.

In recognition for his charitable work, Ethan has been awarded the “Nkosi Johnson Community Spirit Award” by the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, the “Heroes Among Us Award” from the Boston Celtics and the Massachusetts State Health Department and the “Auxilia Chimusoro Award” from the US State Department in Zimbabwe. In addition, he was awarded the 2007 Peace Abby “Courage of Conscience,” the 2008 A Caring Hand’s “Philanthropic Achievement Award,” and was named one of People Magazine’s “Helpers of the Year” in 2005.

In 2005, Ethan was voted Campus Activities Magazine’s “Rookie of the Year.”

Originally from Lexington, MA, Ethan graduated from Vassar College in upstate New York, going on to play professional soccer for Highlanders FC (Zimbabwe), Cape Cod Crusaders and Hawaii Tsunami. Ethan also played for the 1997 and 2001 U.S. National Maccabiah squads.

Off the field, from 1998 to 2002, Ethan was the assistant coach for the Fairleigh Dickinson University Men and Women’s soccer teams. In 2003, he was the head coach of the US National Maccabiah team at the Pan-American Maccabiah Games, in Santiago, Chile.

Ethan resides in New York City.