Kennesaw State’s population has expanded in recent years, leading to an increased online presence, and none of this growth would be possible without the hard-working employees at Web Services and Mobile Development.
One such employee is Christopher Ward, director of web services and mobile development. After earning a bachelor’s degree in political science from KSU in 1995, Ward started his first marketing job in downtown Atlanta. It didn’t take Ward long to realize that his calling was elsewhere.
“I never was really much into that big city corporate environment as I am drawn to the allure and the attraction of a university,” Ward said.
As KSU’s webmaster, Ward wrote code for KSU’s websites as the university expanded its web presence. In 2012, he became the director of web services and oversaw the design and update of all of KSU’s 370 websites with a staff of six other employees.
Their responsibilities increased with the merger with Southern Polytechnic.
“We essentially had to rebuild every single website at Kennesaw State University in about a year’s time,” Ward said.
Ward’s interest in Kennesaw State runs in the family. The director of web services’ mother, Diana Ward, worked in the Human Resources Department for over two decades.
“We have the distinction — I think — of being the only mother and son who were Kennesaw State Staff Employees of the Year,” Ward said.
While working to earn a Master of Arts in professional writing in 2011 through 2013, Ward explored poetry and screenplay writing.
“My program lasted for two and a half years, and it did not feel like work,” Ward said. “I wish more people went back to college because they just want to be better people and never stop learning and growing.”
By the time he completed his degree, Ward published three poetry collections and completed two screenplays. His first two collections, “Seventeen Days” and “Rico,” are available for sale online through Blurb. His third collection and capstone, “Man Poems: From Beers and Gears to Grills and Girls,” is available on Amazon.
Before turning to web design and writing, Ward expressed his creativity through music.
“I’ve been in bands in all kinds of forms and fashions since the late 1980s,” Ward said. “For as long as I’ve been on Earth, I’ve liked having that tangible thing that I created. There’s something magical and mystical to a creative person about that final product, something that you can hold.”
With two degrees under his belt, Ward does not plan to stop his education any time soon. He expressed interest in pursuing his doctorate and becoming certified to teach.
“I actually came to Kennesaw State to study elementary education,” Ward said. “My entire life, I feel like my passion has been to teach people.”
