BY LOUIS C. WARD
LONG ISLAND, N.Y. – My wife and I have nine grandkids, ages 3 to 28 years old with five females and four males. Yes, our grandkids are great and we love them very much…most of the time.
The dog and cat sometimes want them to leave because the younger children love to chase them around the house.
But for the most part they are great and we relish in their achievements and watching the differences in their personalities as they grow up.
However, when they don’t listen and get on our last nerve, we identify with our pets… send them back home quickly. That is one of the fortunate perks of being a grandparent: you can send their butts home or call their parents to come and pick them up, where they will be waiting with bags packed at the door.
All the grandkids are doing very well in their own right. Our younger grandkids, aka G-Kids attend high, middle or elementary school. These are the ones to keep our eyes on. The G-kids are diabolical, strategic and with their telepathic skills can assemble in a moment’s notice to create fun, which sometimes become havoc for us. Fun and havoc occurs every summer when the G-Kids stay with us, their grandparents, during July and August in Florida.
Everyone has a milestone, a significant point in development, that occurs in their family. The Ward’s recent milestone was accomplished by Tisheya, our first granddaughter. She’s a first year student at Hofstra University’s Medical School in Long Island, New York.
We have lawyers, accountants, teachers, software engineers, electricians, social service directors, nurses, guidance counselors, and writers in the Ward family. Now, Tisheya has put the Ward family on the path to having our first medical doctor and Friday, October 14 were all, including Tisheya’s 94-year-old great grandmother, will travel to New York to attend the official White Coat ceremony, where Tisheya will receive her white coat. You know those white jackets doctors wear with their names on them.
The entire family is elated and excited about this major milestone…major event in our family. Some will be coming from as far as Florida to witness Hofstra University Medical School officials place the white coat on Tisheya’s shoulders and listen to her recite the Hippocratic Oath. This is certainly a significant moment in Tisheya’s medical career.
“The white coat ceremony, a rite of passage for medical students, will create a psychological, intellectual, and ethical contract between Tisheya and the profession, and promotes empathy in the practice of medicine from the very start of her medical training.”
Wow! It’s a wonderful milestone for all of us who watched a little girl with a bright smile and caring personality grow up. A little girl who always wanted me, her grandfather, who she named Poppa, to read books to her, sometimes over and over again.
A young lady, who when she was named valedictorian at her Prep 4 Prep graduation, said, “See Poppa, all that reading to me paid off.
Our son, Clayton, Tisheya’s Dad and a professional electrician, said “Tisheya is a stellar example of what perseverance, dedication, and diligence can bring. I am so elated and wish the best for her as she continues to achieve the goals she sets for her life.”
Clayton couldn’t have stated it better. Tisheya has always been an avid reader and a hard working student who always tried to make her academic assignments and projects better since elementary school.
Her GranMa, also a teacher at her elementary school, suggested she apply and test for Prep 4 Prep, a program that academically prepares students to attend independent private schools in New York or boarding schools in other states.
Tisheya graduated and went on to attend The Brearley School, a private school in New York City. She graduated and entered the University of Pennsylvania, where she received her B.A. and that followed with admission to Hofstra Medical School in August 2022.
Tisheya’s mother said, “Tisheya is one fourth of my heartbeat and the wind beneath my wings. I am so proud of her. She has always been a role model for others to follow in her footsteps, I love her dearly and wish her the best as she begins this journey into the medical profession.
Obviously, Tisheya, who is funny and loved by her younger siblings, is a reference point for doing your best for her younger sisters, brothers, and cousins. Melody received a B.A. from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina in 2020 and Talisha graduates from Kenyon College in Ohio in May 2023. Brothers Clayton Jr. is a student at Poly Prep Country Day School. Zahir attends Carver Middle School and Daniel is in the third grade at The Villages Elementary School.
We anticipate Tisheya becoming a compassionate doctor who will go above and beyond for all her patients. We are so grateful for this wonderful milestone and blessing from God.
We thank God for Tisheya, our first grandchild, who has made the Ward family so proud with this significant development in her life and the Ward Family. Along with Tisheya’s wonderful achievement is another development that only affects us, her grandparents, she left Mochi, her cat, with us for the next eight years. Really, Tisheya! We still love you very much, though.
