NFL Player Dedric Ward and Panel of Friends Talk to WA Students

Dedric Ward and a panel of his NFL friends were on campus today and talked to the entire student body about how their experiences and choices led them into successful NFL careers. Ward is the nephew of WA staff member and football coach, Preston Ward. After growing up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and playing at the University of Northern Iowa, Ward was drafted in the '97 draft as a wide receiver. After retiring in 2004, he coached at both the NFL and collegiate ranks, most recently as a Panther back at his alma mater as a wide receiver's coach at UNI. Ward talked about how each step in a person's life can be the next step towards success. It is a motto that he lives by every day and one that he encouraged WA students to adopt as well.

Check out after the break what some of the other panelists had to say.

Knightly Knews Volume 26 is now online!

The latest edition of the Knightly Knews is now online and you can access it by clicking here.  As a .pdf document, you can view or download the quarterly publication to your computer, iPad, or smartphone for easy reading. Some highlights in this edition include:

- Graduation 2013
- State track & field recap
- How to install Woodward Academy's new mobile web application
- Family Fun Day
- Who are Executive Knights?

We hope you have a chance to check it out and enjoy the read.

WA Students Visit Job Corps in Denison

Last week, four WA students visited Job Corps in Denison, Iowa and took a tour of the facilities. Job Corps is the nation's largest education and training program for young people 16 to 24 years of age to learn skills that will be valuable in the workplace. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor and free to students who qualify as low income. There are 125 centers across the nation including several in Iowa.

Pictures are WA students on the Denison campus in an area called HBI. It is where students learn the basics of carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, and other skills necessary in the construction industry. The Denison center also has courses in brick masonry, tile setting, as well as in health occupations including a certified nursing assistant, and pharmacy technician. The trip was planned as an opportunity to expose students to what options are available to them as they begin to transition away from WA.

Baseball Poster 2013

Pictured is the official Woodward Academy Knights baseball poster for the 2013 season. At this point, the season is well underway so we're a little late getting it out, but it certainly shows off the team. We went with a colorful vintage feel to the poster using classic style baseball pennants as the background. Additionally, the players have a posterized filter on them that gives it a little bit a comic feel. If you're on campus, grab a poster and check out a game.

Iron Man 5K Run // Video

The annual Woodward Academy Open House took place last Thursday, June 6. The event is traditionally accompanied in the morning with a 5K run around campus that a number of students and staff participate in. As the most colorful event of the year, the race is not for the weak hearted. It challenges its runners to tackle the infamous "Iron Man" hill twice and has a section through a creek. In actuality, it is less of a traditional run and more of a race of grit and determination.

Overall, the Open House is a great event on campus and allows visitors to get first hand experience of Woodward Academy life. This year, our new web application was also unveiled at the Open House. You can read more about that here. In the meantime, you can see some pictures on our Knight Pics site by clicking here, and check out the video after the break to see the race unfold.

Install WA's New Mobile Web Application // Video

At the Open House yesterday, Woodward Academy's new mobile web application was unveiled and you can install it today. The web app is the next step in helping communicate to those outside of Woodward Academy's campus of all of the opportunities afforded to students. Titled "The Woodward Academy Experience" the app showcases WA's different programs, dorm life, athletics, vocations, and educational opportunities.

The cool thing is that it is something that you can always take with you. Once installed on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device, you can access the information anytime. The app also links directly to our blog and has icons where you can directly contact WA by phone or email. After you take a look at it, there are also icons that help you share the app with others.

We are really excited about the new app and hope that you take time to get it installed today and share it with others. We would love to get it on as many phones as possible. After the break, you can watch a video that presents the the purpose behind the app and how simple it is to get it installed.

Knights Meet NBA Star Harrison Barnes

Some Knights made the trip to Ames, Iowa this past weekend to meet and spend a little time with Harrison Barnes as he was signing autographs at the local Hy-Vee grocery store. Barnes just finished his rookie NBA season with the Golden State Warriors after making it to the playoffs. He is an Iowa native and attended Ames High School where he won two state titles and was the #1 rated senior in the nation before moving on to play college basketball at the University of North Carolina. He decided to forego his final two eligible season for the Tar Heels and entered the 2012 NBA draft where he was drafted 7th overall. You can read more about Harrison Barnes at his wikipedia page by clicking here.