THP 30: Zackaria (Zack) Bazzi

Program: Emergency & Disaster Management (EMPS)
Current Position: Co-Founder, TentEd
Hometown: Manchester, NH

“Zack is an exemplary Georgetown student who truly lives the phrase ‘women and men for others’. After serving his country in the U.S. Army, he chose to dedicate his professional and academic efforts towards improving the quality of life for refugees and IDPs affected by the wars in Syria and Iraq. He has even launched a new nonprofit called TentEd.” - Joelle Miles, EDM Program Director

How do you give back?
During a stint with the Department of State in Iraq, I volunteered at nearby refugee camps that were built to shelter more than 220,000 Syrians who have sought refuge in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. I started studying refugee issues and concluded that something more had to be done. I partnered with two other U.S. Army Veterans and got to work. Within a month we launched TentEd, an international initiative to support the education of displaced children with small-scale rapid response projects. We have funded more than a dozen community-based projects to support the education of hundreds of displaced children from all religions and backgrounds.

What has been your most unique learning experience?
My work with TentEd has been unique, transformative and at times, jarring. Bearing witness to the dignified suffering and resilience of conflict survivors reminds me how precarious our lives can be and cements my commitment to working with, and on behalf of, those who suffer from conflict or natural disasters. It is one of the chief reasons why I applied to study Emergency & Disaster Management at Georgetown University. To a similar degree, my 10 years of service in the Army and the Army National Guard imparted upon me the importance of proper leadership during crisis situations. In volatile settings, effective leadership is the difference between life and death.