Alumni Profile: John Isaac '79

John Isaac ’79 remembers driving up the winding roads of Lookout Mountain for his first visit to Covenant. In the dense fog, only the road reflectors guided him to the college. That initial foggy drive began John’s journey towards understanding his world from a biblical viewpoint.

John was a double varsity athlete at Covenant, running cross-country and playing baseball. He jokingly says that he led the baseball team in home runs his sophomore year, being the only one on the team to hit a home run that year. At the time, Covenant’s baseball field was much larger than regulation fields, so the team’s only real chance of hitting home runs was when they played away. John landed a ball over the fence when the team traveled to Lee University.

Some of John’s favorite Covenant memories were with the baseball team. The dining hall allowed them to come in after-hours just to fellowship together. While these moments didn’t seem significant at the time, they are now some of John’s most cherished memories from his time on the mountain. He remembers sitting around the table with friends, sharing stories, and getting to know one another as they lingered in the calm of the Great Hall.

As a history major, John was challenged to look at history from a Christian perspective, and he appreciates how Covenant pushed him to look at Scripture from all areas of life. “It was at Covenant that I learned how to study from a biblical viewpoint,” he says. Covenant College was the foundation for his belief system.

After his sophomore year, John transferred to Frostburg State University to pursue a degree in political science, a major Covenant didn’t have at the time. Therefore, he’s an honorary member of Covenant’s class of 1979. His professors at Frostburg were impressed by how well he had thought through difficult subjects, which he says he learned to do at Covenant.

John is grateful that he learned how to integrate his faith with the world around him because his Christian worldview has guided him throughout his life and career. After college, he entered the political arena and worked for the Reagan campaign. Now, he’s been working for Northwestern Mutual for almost thirty-seven years. John and his wife, Marie, live right outside of Baltimore, MD, and the two are members of Mount Airy Presbyterian. They have two daughters, Elizabeth and Laura, and they are the proud grandparents of five grandchildren.

John has been very involved in his local community through his dedication to many different organizations. Just to name a few, he served on the Howard County Board, coached at Chapelgate Christain Academy for 19 years, and he was recently elected to the Howard County Police Foundation Board. 

Even though John transferred from Covenant, he is incredibly grateful for the many ways Covenant College shaped him. He and Marie both believe that Covenant is a special place that challenges young believers academically and spiritually.