Abigail "AJ" Ward never imagined that a seemingly random suggestion from her roommate would lead to such profound changes in her life.
As a freshman at Navy, she was immersed in the rigorous academic and physical training that defined her daily routine. Rugby was a foreign concept to her, but her roommate's enthusiasm was infectious. What started with a casual invitation to a rugby practice quickly became a cornerstone of her college experience, shaping her identity and future in unexpected ways.
"When I came here, I had never played rugby before, and I honestly hadn't thought about it or really heard much about it as a sport," Ward recalled. "But my roommate started playing rugby, and she was crazy about it. She loved the team, she loved the culture, she loved the sport. And I was sitting in my room one day, and she said, 'What are you doing after school? Come to rugby practice with me.' I was like, 'What are you talking about? I've never really heard of rugby. I can't play.' And she said, 'Well, I already told them you're coming so that you have to.'
"So I showed up, and I fell in love with the team culture here."
Rugby added another valuable layer to Ward's experience at Navy, which is marked by several significant achievements. One of the most notable is being named a Rhodes Scholar. The school's support for her academic and personal growth was instrumental in her journey to becoming one of the 32 Americans awarded the prestigious scholarship this year. Rhodes Scholarships provide all expenses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England.
Ward speaks after the Veterans Day Parade in New York's Chinatown in 2023. Born in China and adopted by an American family, she grew up in Pasadena, Maryland, with limited connection to her heritage. At Navy, Ward began to fully explore and embrace her cultural roots. (Photo courtesy of Abigail Ward)
"I think it's a huge honor to represent the Navy, especially to represent my school in the Rhodes Scholarship. I'm super excited to attend grad school and study at Oxford. And I'm really excited to see what the future holds," Ward said.
While at Navy, Ward received a Stamps Scholarship, which allowed her to work with the Asia Foundation-Malaysia in 2023 to study the impact of technology policy on small and micro entrepreneurs. She also spent the 2023 spring semester in an intensive Mandarin program in Taipei, Taiwan, at National Taiwan University.
Both opportunities helped form her goals for Oxford, where Ward plans to study social sciences, focusing on the intersection of technology and society. As a computer science major with a minor in Chinese, she is acutely aware of the dual nature of the internet: its potential to connect people and its capacity to spread misinformation. She is passionate about exploring ways to harness the power of online communities to foster unity and understanding rather than division.
"I think that one of the biggest risks you can see is that online communities have the power to both unite people and divide them, depending on the information that gets passed along them," she said. "So I'm interested in studying how we can use the internet as a way to bring our society closer instead of this huge divide that we're continuing to see today."
For Ward, rugby has served as a good example of the power of unity.
"One of rugby's most popular catchphrases or mottos is 'rugby for everyone,' and I think that really models the inclusive environment that a sport like rugby is," Ward said. "In rugby specifically, you have people of all different body types, abilities, strengths, skills, and they can all come together on the rugby field and they can all shine in different ways. I think that's really special."
In many ways, rugby became more than just a sport for Ward. It became her support system.
"Being a part of rugby gives me an immediate family here at Navy. I know that I have a team of people who always have my back, no matter what stressful things are going on at the academy or something else going on in my life," she said. "Our team culture here is very family-oriented, and that's the reason I would never leave. I could never leave this group of girls who has done so much for me at the academy."
Ward's journey at Navy also has been marked by a profound personal evolution.
Born in China and adopted by an American family, she grew up in Pasadena, Maryland, with limited connection to her heritage. It wasn't until she arrived at Navy that she began to fully explore and embrace her cultural roots.
Through the campus Chinese Culture Club, of which Ward is now president, she found a community that celebrated diversity and provided a space for her to connect with her heritage.
"We march annually in the Veterans Day Parade in Chinatown in New York City. Last year, I got to speak to the Chinese Veterans Center. That was a really impactful experience in front of the Lt. Kimlau War Memorial," she said. "I think that really brought together all the accomplishments of other people who have come before me, that I'm able to stand on all the contributions of Chinese Americans to the military that I'm benefiting from. Hopefully I can continue to move that forward and continue to make progress for us."
Ward (left) had never played rugby before getting to Navy. The team became family for Ward, and the sport added a rewarding break into a day filled with academic and physical training. (Photo courtesy of Abigail Ward)
This includes in rugby, which Navy elevated from a club to a varsity sport starting in the 2022-23 academic year as part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program. Navy is one of 29 NCAA schools that sponsored rugby at the varsity level across all divisions in 2022-23. For Ward, the milestone became more important as she connected with alumni of the program before it even had club status.
"To grow from that to a club sport and then to finally reaching NCAA status is really exciting. It shows a lot about the time and dedication the coaches have shown the team, and it speaks to the team culture," she said. "A huge part of life is reaching back and thanking the people who have come before you and acknowledging what they've done, and then standing on their achievements to continue to push for progress. I think that's a huge part of what we do as a (rugby) team and what I want to do in my life in all areas."
Throughout her journey at Navy, Ward has recognized that her success is not solely hers. It is the result of a supportive community and a nurturing environment that celebrated diversity. That has added value and connection to her accomplishments in ways she never imagined.
"My culture is a huge part of my life, and I think that the school has really amazing opportunities for people of all backgrounds and cultures through our cultural (extracurricular activities) to meet with midshipmen from all backgrounds," Ward said. "There's a lot of value in celebrating the diversity of experiences we have in the military because that's where our strength comes from, hearing different ideas and perspectives to solve the challenges we face today. The Naval Academy does that really well."
