From as early as he can remember, Timothy Ward knew that he wanted to fly. In high school, Ward was on his way to a swim team event that required him to travel by plane.
All Ward could think about during the flight was, “Who’s that guy [flying the plane] up there and how can I become that guy?”
After he returned home, Ward’s father took him to a small local airport. Ward was able to get into a plane with an instructor and do a couple laps around the runway. From that moment on, Ward was set on flying.
Ward went on to earn a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) in Air War College-Military Studies at the US Air Force Academy. He was employed as a US Air Force-Command Pilot, US Air Force Chief of Software Systems Development and an American Airlines Pilot-Captain (B-777).
All of these accomplishments by Ward were honored at Prospect’s Homecoming Assembly on September 13. At the assembly, three distinguished alumni were recognized. Ward (Class of 1978) was shocked when he received a call that he had been selected to be honored as a distinguished alumni.
“I have really goofy friends and I thought maybe I was being set up or something,” Ward said. “I really didn’t know anything about [distinguished alumni].”
During his time at Prospect, Ward was heavily involved in the swim team. Ward notes that his swim coach at the time, Paul Reeff, is a mentor that he still looks up to.
“I look back and I think, ‘man, he pushed me harder than I would have ever been pushed,” Ward said.
When Ward was in eighth grade he recalls the Prospect Swim Team being “horrible.” Once he came to high school, the team had a great coach and even greater swimmers.
“We had this coach with passion,” Ward said. “I’ve never [had] a coach like that. It frightened me sometimes, but it was all positive.”
After high school, Ward went off to the Air Force Academy and started out as a Flight Instructor. If a trainee does well enough during basic training, they can advance into different tracks. According to Ward, one track includes fighters, attack planes and trainers. The other track includes air refueling and cargo bombers.
Ward ended up being a trainer, which he thinks fits his personality much more than the other tracks.
“It’s wonderful how you don’t know what you love so much until you start trying things,” Ward said. “I just love being an instructor.”
At one point, Ward was able to apply to an exchange program to try and get into a different type of flying for a different command. Ward applied to an exchange program in Frankfurt, Germany that would allow him to fly a cargo plane.
Throughout Ward’s time in Germany, he lived in town opposed to on base, which helped him immerse himself in German culture and make German friends. Ward acknowledges that the people he met in Germany are still some of his closest friends.
While he was in Frankfurt, the Gulf War had started. Ward’s unit in Germany all went down to Saudi Arabia, so he had the opportunity to live there for about six months.
Ward mentions that war comes with a variety of mental challenges. During his time in the military he realized that, to some degree, he had to put his thoughts behind the decision makers.
“War seems like a necessary evil a lot of times,” Ward said. “You always want to think that we are always on the good side and sometimes it isn’t always so clear whether we’re doing the right thing.”
After his time in the Air Force, Ward switched to commercial flying. Even though commercial flying might not be as high intensity as Air Force, Ward highlights that a large part of the job is decision making. According to Ward, the mission of a commercial flight is taking off safely, flying to a destination and then landing.
Throughout his life, Ward has gone through trial and error with almost everything he’s tried. He highlights that the mentors he has met along the way have helped him get to where he is today.
“Nothing ever happened for me that I wanted the first time I tried it,” Ward said. “It seemed like the more I wanted it … the [more it] guaranteed that it wasn’t going to be something I got to enjoy immediately … It didn’t just happen because I tried harder. I met a lot of people who I sought out and were just amazing people that wanted to reach out and become mentors and help me get to where I wanted to go.”
