RESOURCE MENU
In 2024, Reade Ward became the first ever Anderson University student to receive a Fulbright award, a prestigious grant sponsored by the United States government to promote scholastic collaboration between countries. In this interview, we learn about Reade’s research project, his Anderson University journey, and his favorite homecooked meal.
Congratulations on your Fulbright Award. Tell us about yourself.
My name is Reade Ward, I will be a senior graduating in Fall of 2026, and I’m an environmental science major with a business minor and voice minor.
What led you to choose Anderson University?
I chose Anderson for a few reasons. First, I liked how the college was doing financially. Anderson seemed very stable as a University, compared to a lot of other universities in the area that had struggled with an identity crisis during and after Covid. I recognized that Anderson had solid leadership, good vision and a great reputation. I also really appreciated Anderson’s Baptist roots. I’m reformed Presbyterian, which is close theologically, so that was a big draw.
What Fulbright Award did you receive? What research did it enable you to complete?
I received an undergraduate Fulbright Award to study global sustainability and biodiversity at the University of Exeter in England last summer. We had two lectures a day from different globally renowned researchers. I researched and wrote a report on the inefficiency of bovine-produced methane capture through anaerobic digesters while in England, which is a field Americans are trying to invest in.
What inspired you to apply for a Fulbright Award?
I wanted to be competitive in graduate school. Big schools really love Fulbrighters, and I wanted to elevate my chances of graduate school with an academic achievement.
How has your experience at Anderson University helped you achieve this dream?
Getting an email every two days about applying for the Fulbright helped push me to complete the application promptly. Anderson has helped me achieve lots of dreams, like playing a competitive D1 college sport through club disc golf, sponsored by SGA and Innova, with my buddies Bain Hagen, Alec Pryor and Nate Harvey. Anderson has also allowed me to sing in possibly the best college choir in the state under Dr. Williamson without being a music major. Anderson’s environmental science program gave me the keys to land an internship this summer working for a mitigation bank company, Westervelt Ecological Services, in Alabama. Without Anderson, none of those dreams would have happened.
How will your research advance Anderson University’s goal of Nourishing Humanity Through the Cross?
I’ve been able to work on several research projects, both in England and in Anderson, that I hope will point to finding wonder, practicality and longevity in God’s creation. I hope that my research on anaerobic digestion in England will help cut down on methane leakage in the manure industry. I’m also working with Dr. Gonzalez, an incredible ornithologist, here in Anderson to study the predator satiation effect in Rusty Blackbird populations. This fall, I’ll be beginning a project with Emma Moore where we will study the effects of sprouting hormones from Black Willow trees on livestake survivability of Buttonbush plants and Weeping Willow trees. I think that regardless of what research you do, your words and attitude will always point to Christ if your heart is firm in him. So, any work I do should ultimately point back to Jesus’ love for his children.
What do you hope to do in the future?
I hope to work in the silviculture (tree growing) or ecological field, either in land or wildlife management.
READE WARD FAST FACTS
Hobbies? I like disc golf, fly fishing, bow hunting, surfing, singing, skimboarding and beekeeping.
Favorite food? It’s my mom’s thick cut pork chops with sweet gravy and her lemon pound cake hot out of the oven for dessert.
Favorite place on campus? Clamp lobby
Favorite AU event? My roomie Luka Milojkovic and I run The Electric City Half Marathon, hosted by Josh Kull the last Saturday of every April.
A fun fact about you? I set up my twin, who went to another college, with a girl from Anderson and it worked out. They are getting married this fall. She got the ring by spring.