COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Zach Frank turned a lot of heads this past fall.

The 6-foot-3, 270-pound Saint John's University defensive lineman finished the 2025 football season with 46 tackles, including a team-best 17 for a loss. He also led the MIAC with 13 sacks and earned All-American honors for the second-straight year.

But as impressive as his impact has been on the field, the impact he's made off it has been considerable as well.

Frank has long been a key part of the football team's annual fundraising efforts for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and while studying abroad in London during the spring semester in 2024, he took part in a service internship with Boxing Futures, an outreach program for at-risk youth.

Among his duties were setting up and running boxing sessions each week, as well as helping identify potential sites to expand.

But Frank's biggest effort has come close to home in Central Minnesota.

A year ago, he led efforts to start the Johnnies and Bennies in Community organization on campus. In the first year, 15 student-athletes created a mentorship program for kids in need of a positive influence at Madison Elementary School in St. Cloud.

That program has now expanded to almost 40 student-athletes this school year and continues to grow.

"I think a lot of the desire to give back to the community comes from being part of the amazing community here at Saint John's and Saint Ben's," said Frank, who returned for a fifth and final football season on a medical redshirt last fall. "It's really one of the core values here, and when you're around it that long, it inspires you – especially when you see other people doing the same thing."

Meredith Boucher, the principal at Madison, praised Frank's role in getting the program started.

"I knew some of the other players at Saint John's, so I reached out because we have kids here who look up to athletes and could use a big brother," she said. "Somehow word got to Zach and he took the idea and ran with it. He did all the footwork, connected me with the athletes and made sure they completed all the necessary background information. Then he spearheaded efforts to make sure everyone was here weekly."

Boucher said that the results of that weekly presence have been clearly noticeable.

"We saw an increase in student engagement because those students knew they had athletes supporting them," she said. "Attendance improved. Behavior improved. It was so impressive the way Zach and the rest of the athletes showed up every week, no matter what was going on in their lives or their college schedule. They were consistent and reliable and Zach had a lot to do with that.

"Our school year goes longer than the school year at CSB and SJU. Zach had already gone home for the summer, but he made sure he returned to attend fifth-grade graduation with the student he mentored. He met the family. He made such a difference in that student's life. The difference in engagement at school was like night and day after Zach started working with him."

But Frank said those relationships go both ways. He's gained a lot from working with the students too.

"(Getting invited to graduation), then going to a cookout with the family in the park and meeting his parents and a lot of relatives was really fun for me," he said. "It's a great feeling to know what I'm doing matters to them.

"I guess I didn't realize how big an impact my teammates and I could make just by giving a little bit of our time," he added. "It's a big lesson to learn. Giving even just a little bit of your time to someone can help them a lot, and in more ways than you think."

Frank said he has experienced that from both sides during his time at SJU.

"There have been a lot of people who mentored me here," he said. "Coaching wise, guys like (defensive line coach) Damien Dumonceaux and (head strength and conditioning coach) Justin Rost have been huge role models. When I was younger, older (defensive linemen) like Colin Franz and Michael Wozniak were great mentors to me as well.

"The culture in this place is a big part of why a program like this exists," Frank continued. "It's why a lot of people at Saint John's and Saint Ben's give their time. That's something that's been built up over the years.

"The upperclassmen guide the younger students. Then when those younger students get in those shoes, they guide the students younger than them. It's a continuous process of mentoring and leading that benefits everyone who's a part of it."