Interview with the American Educator and Author : Randi D. Ward

MoroccoPens

Georgia, USA

Retired Language Arts teacher Randi D. Ward has 37 years experience in the field of education and is a talented published author.

                               

Mrs. Ward graduated at the top of her high school class and with honors both at her undergraduate and graduate levels at her university.  With a Bachelors of Arts in Language Arts, Mrs. Ward earned a Master’s degree from Marshall University in West Virginia and began her lustrous teaching career educating students grades 7 thru 12 in both rural and inner city schools in the areas of grammar, literature, creative writing, essay writing, research writing, journalism, pubic speaking, and drama.

Mrs. Ward has contributed significantly to her field, helping pioneer the formation of the Gifted Program in West Virginia. Additionally, in the 1970s, she assisted her alma mater Marshall University in creating the Masters Education Program courses for the teachers of TAG (Talented and Gifted).  A world traveler and lover of all cultures, from November 2011 until February 2012, Mrs. Ward taught English as a Second Language to young adults in Cairo, Egypt. The experience led her and her two Egyptian business partners to open an English and German language school called Rise Up in late 2012.  Sadly, it had to close due to the unstable political situation in Egypt.  She was also a former partner and educational instructor and coordinator of 6 October English Institute in Egypt with her partner Samar Farouk. 

Throughout her teaching professional career, Mrs. Ward has motivated thousands of students and has always encouraged them to believe in themselves and to try to do their very best to achieve their dreams.  “Believe! Don’t dream big; dream bigger! The sky is the limit so reach for the stars!” is her life philosophy.

“My love for challenging the minds of young people and watching them grow up into responsible, educated adults kept me in my career for 37 years.”

When she returned from Cairo, Mrs. Ward embarked on her second career as a professional author. In the spring of 2012, she wrote her first book—a memoir about living and surviving as a teacher during Egypt’s political revolution entitled “Because I Believed in Me (My Egyptian Fantasy Came True).”  Shortly after, she founded her business as an author in December 2012. She currently has four more books in the works, which will be sent to the publisher in 2016.

As of today, Mrs. Ward has created 36 YouTube videos, which can be viewed under the channel name Randi Ward. The videos highlight her photographs, poetry, current humanitarian projects — and much more.  She is an honorary president and advocate of World Peace Forest (Africa) and the USA Regional Director for Africa Nomads Conservation. She has also written more than 140 inspirational and educational blogs on her book website, created by her publisher Author House for her book: www.randidward.com. This website also includes links to the eight USA national radio interviews she has done to teach the truth about Egypt after her experiences of living there during part of Egypt’s revolution and of interacting with her many Egyptian friends and students as well as articles written about her in two Egyptian newspapers and two magazines.

Mrs. Ward was named “Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 in the Education Industry” by Worldwide Who’s Who and was profiled in the month of March in the 2015 Worldwide Branding Calendar. In 2015, she was honored as this organization’s Humanitarian of the Year and as a Top Female Executive. Her other awards and credentials include the following:  National Association of Professional Women (NAPW) where she was named 2014-15 VIP Woman of the Year, an elite member and 2015 Delegate of the International Women’s Leadership Association (IWLA) and was highlighted in its May/June 2016 “Inspirational Woman Magazine, a 2014 Pinnacle Professional Member of Continental Who’s Who, an elite member of Strathmore Worldwide Who’s Who where she will be featured on a full page profile in its next book, and 2015 Professional of the Year with International Association of Who’s Who. 

Learn more about Randi in the following Q & A:

Q: Why do you enjoy your career as a writer?

A:  Writing allows me to motivate, to teach life lessons, and to share my ideas.  It gives me another platform from which to be an educator since I am retired from the classroom.

Q:  What are your preferred genres for writing?

A:  I love to write all kinds—memoirs, novels, adult level and children level short stories, poetry, blogs, essays for magazines, and song lyrics.  My next challenge will be to write a drama.

Q:  Where or how do you get ideas or topics about which to write?

A:  I am inspired by current events naturally. Many of my blogs and poems deal with problems or situations occurring in our world. I try to provide some helpful advice or solutions. All of my life I have been a big dreamer and a hard worker. Thus, most of my fictional stories are generally about people overcoming obstacles to achieve their dreams. Our world is very troubled in so many ways now, so I try to teach positive life lessons and provide hope and motivation for my readers with my happy endings. We need more happy endings these days.

Q:  Do you do any research for your books, blogs, etc.?

A: I do intensive research if a topic or subject is not familiar to me. For example, my new novel Random Wanderings takes place in many cities throughout the world so I researched them so the plot would seem totally realistic.

Q:  Have you inspired others to write?

A: Yes, many of my former students have begun to write poetry, blogs, and even books because I have encouraged them.  Many of them have shared their work for me to edit and give advice for improvement.  This, of course, delights me since I am a lover of the written word.

Q:  What do you consider to be your finest achievements so far?

A:  Professionally, I am extremely proud of my successful 37+ years in the field of education. Being an effective teacher was always of the utmost importance to me so I worked diligently to provide the best classroom education possible. I also kept high expectation for my students and made them work to their capacity and beyond when I could.  Having played a role in the lives of these young people and having been able to shape their minds has brought me much joy and self-satisfaction.  I am still in contact with many of my former students and am privileged to watch them grow and achieve their goals.  Secondly, writing professionally was always a dream of mine. That dream is now being achieved.  I will continue to find ways to share my words and ideas. I have received quite a nice number of special awards for my hard work. I always feel humbled and honored for this recognition. Third, on a personal level, raising my son Mark with high morals, great family values, excellent work ethics, and love and respect for his fellow man is the ultimate aspiration of every parent.  My 44-year marriage to my husband Bill, the love of my life, has enabled me to maintain the happiness and stability necessary in my life.  Finally, over the years I have overcome some serious physical problems that amazed my doctors. I am proud I have always been able to find the mental, physical, and emotional strength needed to overcome these obstacles.  Life is a precious gift. I never take one second of it for granted.