Interview with Zeke Fairbank S’75
Zeke Fairbank graduated from St John’s Military Academy in 1975. He was very candid in his interview.
When he was in grade school his education was not progressing. The private school he attended in Chicagoland could not help him and sent him to counseling. It turned out that he had dyslexia, and there were not many resources for him in the Chicago area. However, Dean Pitt at SJMA had instituted a comprehensive program for dyslexics which Zeke credits as “saving his life”. After spending a year in a special course at SJMA with reading machines focusing on comprehension and speed, he said “the dam burst”, he started reading and the world of books opened up for him, reading everything he could get his hands on. He started to build his academic confidence and conquer the subjects in school. And, he was able to excel in sports not requiring the hand-eye coordination challenging to dyslexics.
Zeke started at SJMA in 7th grade and by the time he was a senior, he was in a conundrum as there were no more advanced classes to take. He was allowed to take one class off campus at a local community college, he also was allowed an Independent Curriculum with a teacher at SJMA including advanced Physics, Calculus, and Mechanical Drawing. He applied to two colleges and was admitted to both. He chose the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York because he liked to race sailboats and they had an excellent engineering program.. He did not know what to expect academically at the Merchant Marine, but from the beginning, he was the example when it came to anything military. His uniform and room were always perfect and he was often the example for many of his peers. However, this focus came at a cost as he suffered an increasing challenge in the classroom and chose to resign from Kings Point after six months.
He then returned home, enrolled in a community college, and got a part-time job. At the same time, he then reapplied and was accepted back to the Merchant Marine Academy. The value of persistence and grit, something he attributes to SJMA propelled him to succeed. The second time around he made academics his priority, not being the perfect cadet, because he did not need to prove it, his superiors knew it. He joined the sailing team and was made captain his senior year. After completing his service obligation in the Merchant Marine working for Military Sealift Command, he eventually returned to school attending New York University’s Stern School of Business and earning a dual MBA in Finance and International Business while working part-time.
He remembers the pranks they did to each other and the school was fun. He taught other cadets how to repel out of the third-story window of DeKovan, tying the rope to a radiator and working their way down. He remembers fondly senior skip day, going to Lake Geneva to visit the Playboy club with the First Captain and another classmate. But his favorite memory was a few days before graduation when he and a few seniors left school and went to a local tavern, they got caught by a teacher, but rather than turning in the cadets, the teacher instead joined the cadets for a beer.
He said SJMA taught him Leadership. How to communicate, motivate, and get people to work and accomplish a goal together! Give people direction in a manner of true leadership, one that is earned from hard work and integrity. He has no problem asking people to do things, work, accomplish, and drive towards a goal. He said SJMA taught him that “Failure is not Forever”!!!!! He was in bad shape when he got here, he was in good shape when he left. Advice he would give to graduating seniors: the world is big, get out there, experience it, make your way, study abroad, take a gap year and travel, get life experiences, and don’t be afraid. If you are not ready, he said go to a community college, learn a trade, keep moving forward, and take the lessons of SJNA with you.