Written by Doug Goodnough
Frank Isabelle II, ’89, doesn’t have any championship trophies sitting on his mantle from his tennis-playing days at Hillsdale College. But he fondly recalls his athletic experience.
The former two-time Charger captain said the team was often overmatched by larger programs, but he said the team trained hard and competed despite often being the underdogs.
“It was just good camaraderie,” said Isabelle, who came to Hillsdale from a strong high school tennis program in the Columbus, Ohio, area. “The school attracted me, not so much the tennis. Tennis turned out to be a bonus.”
Isabelle said Hillsdale’s tennis coach left before he even arrived on campus, and former Charger football coach and faculty member Dr. Dan Goldsmith was named coach.
“He didn’t really know tennis,” said Isabelle, who played both singles and doubles for the Chargers. “He was an old-school football coach. He did a lot for me. He gave me some opportunities and pushed me along a little bit in his way. We called him Big Daddy. I miss him.”
Isabelle said Goldsmith naming him team captain was the introduction to the idea that he could become a leader. He would go on to hold leadership positions in his Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, and eventually was elected vice president of his senior class. He also was active in the Big Brothers program during his time on campus.
“I think Hillsdale helped me be a leader later on (in life),” he said.
Former English professor Dr. James King helped Isabelle expand his vocabulary, and he said attending the Center for Constructive Alternatives (CCA) events was a welcome break from his business and finance classes.
“I learned about things outside of my discipline,” he said. “The liberal arts, I’m all in.”
Isabelle has been in the insurance business since his graduation. For the past 18 years, he has owned and operated EB Solutions, which sells employee benefits. His company currently has more than 140 clients from all over the U.S. He also was past president of the Columbus Association of Healthcare Underwriters.
Isabelle said he attributes some of his career success to the education he received at Hillsdale.
“I’m proud to say that I went to Hillsdale,” he said. “I like the conservative ideals, and I do believe in smaller government.”
Isabelle has three children and two step-children. He and his wife, Carrie, reside in Hilliard, Ohio.
Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.
Published in May 2023
