By Simone Brady

Aaron Ward sits in a desk, strategizing with his partner for a game in his history class. He’s all business, his normally-smiling face straight as the two of them agonize over the costs of an imaginary voyage on the Oregon Trail.

Ward is a junior, and he knows he’ll be graduating soon, so he’s been working harder than ever to excel in the classroom. Despite his concentration, he grins and answers honestly as questions are snuck in between calculations and discussions over which items will be the wisest purchases. He has a deep voice which carries, so he has to speak quietly, but he tends to keep to himself unless he’s in a group of his friends, so volume control isn’t too difficult for him.

Remarkably, he doesn’t let a mini-interview distract him from his schoolwork; after each response, he bows his head and scratches some more numbers onto the paper in front of him. That kind of determination is impressive, but it’s par for the course when it comes to him.

Ward was born Feb. 6, 2000, in Jeffersonville, Ind. He grew up with a sister, Allie, who is six years older than him. In his words, he grew up in a decent neighborhood and was a “very happy kid.” He attended Northhaven Elementary, Thomas Jefferson Elementary, and River Valley Middle School before arriving here at Jeff High.

He’s passionate about theater and choir, and he plays ultimate frisbee from time to time. Ward is also a low bass in Jeff High’s chamber choir. Additionally, he’s been in four productions in his time here, including Footloose, Rehearsal for Murder, the Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, and Bring It On.

According to Ward, what makes him unique is how easily he can get along with so many different types of people, his ability to form bonds with others and his ability to do various activities.

“I had a lot of good friends,” he said, when talking about his childhood. That seems to be true today, too, as he socializes easily with his friends from choir, theater, and ultimate frisbee. It’s rare to see him completely alone.

Ward is most proud of “the friendships [he’s] made, and how [he’s] keeping up with [his] schoolwork, and [his] faith, and just… keeping going in life.”

His plans for the future include getting a steady job to hopefully pay for his own college, then being able to financially support himself and maybe eventually a family. He hasn’t settled on a major, but is strongly considering studying criminal justice at the University of Louisville.

Aaron Ward is an easygoing guy whose life is focused mainly on schoolwork, his faith, his friends and his extracurriculars. He’s working hard to make sure he meets all of his goals for the future.

After all, you have to be dedicated and industrious in order to tackle the Oregon Trail, even a fictional version of it, and he started planning with no hesitation. With his determination and persistence, the sky’s the limit.