“You are the only person who can hold you back from your dreams. No one else can,” Ward said.

Ward said it was at the Boys & Girls Club five or six years ago that he decided what he wanted to major in. “It (the club) changed my character,” he added.

He is a member of the club’s Brothers of Leadership and Distinction, an organization that encourages young gentlemen to take life seriously and to think outside the box.

Ward will attend Florida A&M University in the fall and earn a degree in business “and begin a successful business of my own.”

Ward has $3,000 in scholarships, is awaiting word on other scholarships and will seek financial aid at Florida A&M.

A college degree is his back-up plan, something always there to fall back on.

Ward wants to be a worldwide success. He wants to own restaurants that on first sight would cause people to say, “Wow!”

Because shopping makes him happy, Ward would like to own a mall. He recalled a mall that appeared to be under water with lots of fish swimming everywhere.

In his THS Class of 2009, Ward was Senator of Fund-Raising and oversaw class fund-raisers. He plans to be financially sound by the age of 21.

“He’s a self-motivated, highly determined young man,” said Daniel Dorsey, a THS teacher and coach and advisor to the Class of ‘09. “His work ethic is like phenomenal.”

Dorsey said Ward goes after what he wants. “I was really impressed with that,” he added.

At crunch time, Ward becomes aggressive. He said he has to be aggressive because he is not a physically big guy.

Ward has mapped out his domestic life: He will meet an intelligent, classy, goal-oriented woman at 26, marry her at 28 and before he is 30 become a father.

He will become a wealthy man and take care of those who have taken care of him.

Ward prays and talks to God many times daily about his life plans.