EDITOR'S NOTE: My LopeLife is a feature in which GCU students, staff and alumni share enlightening experiences, like this feature, which originally appeared in the August issue of GCU Magazine. The issue is available in the purple GCU Magazine bins across campus, or access the digital issue here.
Story by Jordan Ward
Photos by Ralph Freso
When I look back at my life before GCU, I do not see a clear path, nor do I see perfection. I see a young man who knew he was capable of something meaningful but did not always know what direction to turn.
Like a lot of people, my story has parts that are not easy to explain in one sentence.
My biological mother struggled with alcoholism, and early in my life, I was moved from doorstep to doorstep. My grandmother brought me and my older brother to Atlanta, where my great-aunt and great-uncle, Corrie and Jeff, stepped into the role of mom and dad. They loved me, corrected me, raised me and helped build the foundation I stand on today.
My biological father’s story shaped me, too.
Before alcohol became part of his life, he was an all-star, three-sport athlete with real talent and opportunity. Our relationship was not always what I wished it could have been before he passed away, but his life left me with a lesson I still carry: Potential is not enough.
I did not want to become someone who had gifts but never stewarded them well.
In high school, that pressure turned into drive. I graduated with a 4.2 GPA and finished in the top five of my class. At the time, I thought I was proving something important. Now I think I was learning something: Excellence matters because your name follows what you do.
When I came to GCU, I was still figuring out where all of that drive belonged. I knew I loved technology. I knew I loved people. I knew I loved music.
I grew up in church and started playing keyboard and organ around 14 or 15. Music was, and still is, one of the places where I feel most alive. A lot of people at GCU know me through Ingram Honors College, Residence Life, my FBI internship or IT. But not everybody knows that the musician side of me is probably the part I am most passionate about.
GCU helped me see that all those different parts of me did not have to compete; they could work together.
That started becoming clear when I became a resident assistant in Juniper Hall. Being an RA taught me that leadership is not about being known by everyone. It is about making people feel known. It is checking on someone when they seem off. It is creating a space where people can laugh, breathe and feel like they belong.
That role shaped my heart, because it allowed me to pour into people while still being myself.
My first IT role under (IT Director) Shareka Purnell at Grand Canyon Education shaped me in a different way. It gave me a real look into the IT field and showed me that technical skill is only meaningful when it serves people. Behind every ticket, device or system problem is a person trying to do their job, take a class, lead a team or move forward. IT taught me that solving problems is a form of service.
The Honors College became another major part of my story. (Dean) Dr. Breanna Naegeli has been instrumental in my growth by trusting me, pouring into me and giving me opportunities that pushed me out of my comfort zone.
I owe a lot to Honors because it became one of the places where people really came to know me. It also taught me that sometimes opportunity comes before confidence. You do not always feel ready when God opens a door.
One of those doors was speaking at the university’s Amethyst Gala, which this year raised funds for the college.
Standing in front of thousands of people, I realized that the moment was bigger than a speech. It represented so many pieces of my life coming together: the kid from Atlanta, the student, the RA, the IT professional, the honors student, the musician and the young man trying to represent God well.
In that moment, I realized God was not just building my resume. He was building my character.
I have been blessed with mentors who helped shape that process. Saadia Johnson, my high school counselor, helped me believe in what was possible before I fully saw it. Chris Liston, my current resident director, and E.J. Taylor, who never officially got to be my RD but became a mentor anyway, have poured into me in ways I will always appreciate.
And there’s my family and community back home who gave me tough skin, love and the ability to keep going.
The biggest lesson I have learned is that your story does not disqualify you. Sometimes it is the very thing God uses to prepare you.
My faith has grown a lot since coming to GCU. I have gone from simply believing in God to realizing that every good thing in me is something He gave me to steward.
The gifts are not just for me. The opportunities are not just for me. The people around me are not just connections. They are part of how God shapes me.
So if someone reads my story and sees struggle, I hope they see what God can do with a life that is still being shaped. But you have to pursue Him and be willing to learn even when you do not know everything yet.
Your story does not have to be perfect to have purpose, as I once thought before coming to GCU. Your gifts – cybersecurity leader, musician, RA, whatever it may be – all those different parts of you, do not have to look like everyone else’s. But whatever God places in your hands, do something meaningful with it.
I knew I had potential and was capable of a life of meaning, despite those struggles early on.
And with the help of family and mentors, like the mentors I have at GCU who saw the possibilities in me, I finally now have a clear direction.
Potential is a gift. Excellence is a choice. And I am still learning how to choose it every day.
About Jordan Ward
Jordan Ward is a senior cybersecurity major with double minors in business management and entrepreneurial studies. He is also a resident assistant in Juniper Hall, IT director at Lux Manufacturing and a network administrator at Grand Canyon Education. A musician at heart, he loves playing keyboard, organ and bass and using his gifts to serve others.
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Other August GCU Magazine stories:
In demand: Why employers keep coming back to GCU
From embassy work to a Holy Land visit, Lopes lived large this summer
