Leave Only Footsteps
[ Send this article to a friend ]
go to page: [ 1 | 2 ]
“His name was Bill Ennis, and he was inspirational,” says Ballard, smiling. “He had a great career, including working in a particle accelerator lab at Fermilab. He gave it up to teach high school physics. He said if he could get 20 students to do what he had done, his impact on science would be 20 times greater.”
After several of Ennis’s graduates attended IIT and gave the university glowing reports, he began to suggest the university to his juniors and seniors. At least one has enrolled at IIT every year since. But Ballard’s path is somewhat unusual. His triumvirate of passions includes his major, chemical engineering; his minor, political science; and his avocation, community service. After graduation Ballard intends to return to his native Alaska to work in engineering and then enter law school, possibly at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Raymond Ballard (CHE, 4th year)“There’s a lot of law involved in working with engineering companies,” Ballard says. “It’s important to understand the technical aspects of what they’re doing. There’s patent work, dealing with renewable energy, working with the oil and gas industries. They need so much legal work, and most lawyers don’t have a technical background. There are lots of opportunities.” Eventually, he hopes to meld his passions and enter politics.
Ballard’s commitment to community service stems from his many years in the Boy Scouts, where, at age 17, he became an Eagle Scout. It’s a rank attained by just 2 percent of all scouts, including such accomplished men as Neil Armstrong, Gerald Ford, and Bill Gates.
Following one of the Boy Scouts tenets of providing service to others, Ballard began working on roadside cleanup and canned-food drives at as early as age 11. “I helped churches construct things that would sustain them, like a storage shed,” he says, sounding matter of fact, as though it were something every sixth grader would do.
Scouting significantly impacted his life in more than one way. When he was 17, he and his troop went to a Scout Jamboree, an event that brings together 35,000 scouts from all over the world. It was extremely hot, and Ballard joined several adults in erecting a large tent in order to keep the scouts cool. As they lifted the tent, a pole struck a power line, killing four of the leaders. “It was terrifying,” Ballard says quietly. “Their kids were there. One of the leaders was the camp director, so just about every scout knew him. These men were all 150 percent committed to scouting, to making sure we were the best people we could possibly be. It was horrible.
“After that I told myself I would do everything possible to get everything out of life that I could.”
The following year Ballard became active in his high school’s student government and more involved with community organizations.
When he enrolled at IIT, he joined Union Board and was selected president last year. According to Erin Gray, director of student life, Ballard helped revitalize Scarlet Fever, a group within the Union Board that promotes athletic events on campus. He became a familiar figure, walking around campus with face paint to remind students of that evening’s game. “Ray is at the forefront of getting students involved in IIT and making it a better place,” says Gray. “He’s a good role model, and a good representative of the student body.”
Ballard laughs when he thinks about the face paint. “It’s not just about the fun and games,” he says. “At the end of the day, we know that our name is only as good as our institution. When we graduate, we need to make sure that every graduating student feels the same way and commits 110 percent to bettering the institution back home and bettering the name of IIT abroad.”
go to page: [ 1 | 2 ]
