Academic

“My first assignment with State
was as an economic officer and consular
officer in Georgetown, Guyana,” he said.
“For my second assignment, I served as
an economic officer in Amman, Jordan,
where I specialized in energy issues.”
A NAVAL BEGINNING
After graduating from GPA in 1994 and then
Grosse Pointe South High School in 1998, Ball
attended Tulane University in New Orleans on
a U.S. Navy ROTC scholarship. After that, it was
law school at Wayne State University. But while
he was an undergrad at Tulane, Ball joined the
ROTC, which eventually led to a commission as a
surface warfare officer with the Navy.
“Serving in the military is part of my family’s
tradition,” Ball said. “As a young child, I have
always admired my relatives’ service to their
country. It was an honor to serve in the Navy
as a officer, especially in the challenging years
following 9/11.”
After finishing up four years of active duty
in the Navy, Ball still wanted to continue serving
his country, and since working for the federal
government seemed to be a genuine calling, he
signed up with the U.S. Department of State and
became a foreign service officer.
Foreign service officers work in U.S. embassies
and consulates, he said, and their primary mission
is to advance U.S. foreign policy interests and
provide help to American citizens abroad. He
liked that idea very much.
“My first assignment with State was as
an economic officer and consular officer in
Georgetown, Guyana,” he said. “For my second
assignment, I served as an economic officer
in Amman, Jordan, where I specialized in
energy issues.”
It wasn’t all work, however, according to
Ball.
“Even though we were always really
busy, it nonetheless was exciting to have
such rich cultural experiences available
when we could get out of the office,” he said.
“In Georgetown, where I developed an interest
in birdwatching, there are over 700 bird species
packed into a very small geographic territory. And
Jordan’s many historic sites, like the Dead Sea,
Petra and Wadi Rum, were fascinating to visit.”For
Ball’s upcoming year-long “visit” to Baghdad, he
will have someone very close to him as company
during his assignment. His wife, Emily, who is an
economics officer with the State Department, will
be serving with him there at the same time.
GPA MEMORIES
It perhaps goes without saying that Iraq is
a long way from Michigan and Grosse Pointe
Farms. But Ball believes his education as a
youngster, especially his time at the Academy, was
instrumental in getting him to where he is today.
“I really appreciate all the teachers and staff
who were so important in my schooling at the
Academy,” he said. “I began at GPA in pre-school
in 1982 and I still have fond memories of many
teachers and administrators—especially my
kindergarten teacher, Anne Carson, my 4thand
5th-Grade teacher, Bob Lapadot, and those
summer trips with our science teacher, Mike
Fultz.”
Patrick Ball is with
his wife, Emily Ball,
far left, and sister,
Katherine Ball, in
Jordan in 2013.
THE GROSSE POINTE ACADEMY / FALL 2015 23