Remembering Ardan Carlisle

| News Editor

Beginning at the age of three, first-year Ardan Carlisle taught himself to play on his family’s Bösendorfer piano. (Photo courtesy of the Carlisle family)

First-year Ardan Carlisle died Dec. 19, 2024, from an undiagnosed medical condition at 18 years old. He is survived by his parents, Mike and Lada Carlisle, along with his older brother Evan.

Ardan was an Arts & Sciences student majoring in Mathematics, who also explored his interests in music and the humanities. His family, professors and friends remember him not only as a prodigious musician and a brilliant mathematician, but also as an extremely humble and compassionate person.

In high school, Nolan Miller, a classmate, invited Ardan to play in his band after hearing Ardan play in a jazz class they had together.

“Something about how Ardan played the keyboard really spoke to me,” Miller said. “Ardan was very quiet, but whenever they would play the keyboard, it’s like their emotions were being transmitted, as if he wasn’t communicating with words, but with music.”

Ardan, who used both he/him and they/them pronouns, grew up in San Antonio, Texas. His family moved to Bowling Green, Ohio when he was in seventh grade.

He first demonstrated signs of his intellect at age three, when he started playing music by ear on the piano. At age six, he taught himself algebra and physics after becoming fascinated with the idea of time travel.

By the end of sixth grade, they had already completed AP Calculus BC and several other AP courses, so they began taking classes at nearby Bowling Green State University throughout middle and high school. Ardan amassed over 150 college credits before graduating from high school.

Elainie Lillios, Professor of Composition at Bowling Green, first encountered Ardan when he enrolled in her upper-level music technology course as a sophomore in high school.

“Ardan was one of the smartest, most-capable students I have ever taught, and outperformed many of the university students,” Lillios said. “He used his intelligence to bring people together, rather than to separate him from others. I never got the feeling that he thought he was better than anyone else.”

Lillios, who was one of Ardan’s favorite teachers, had always looked forward to seeing how he would better the world.

“I always thought Ardan would go on to be one of those great minds of the future,” she said. “His loss is a profound one for people who knew him, and also for the people who I know would have benefited from his scientific discoveries and developments.”

Ardan’s suitemate — first-year Adi Solomon — mentioned that they enjoyed relaxing by watching the show Breaking Bad and jamming out to music. Ardan rarely talked about their mathematical prowess, but Solomon got some rare glimpses into their abilities.  

“I would happen to run into them in the library reading extremely complex math books for fun,” Solomon said. “They talked about math in a spiritual way, like seeing God in numbers and the beauty in the world via complex numerical patterns.”

Aside from Ardan’s expansive intellectual capabilities, Solomon found their genuine kindness towards others to be their most impressive trait.

“I can’t imagine them doing anything mean. They were so kind, so gentle, and gave such great hugs,” Solomon said. “[One time], I had class very early in the morning and I had put my clothes in the washer, and then Ardan put them in the dryer and took them upstairs for me [without my asking].”

Ardan, affectionately described as a “walking Spotify” because of his perfect pitch, once taught himself Japanese over the summer between fifth and sixth grade. At WashU, he was working to become fluent in Russian by reading entire books in the language.     

“He was very, very secretive and introverted and sometimes felt as if his talents weren’t worth sharing,” Mike Carlisle said. “He would enter into national music composition competitions, and placed in several of them, but he would always remain anonymous. He wasn’t interested in status or material gain — he just wanted to see how people would react to his music.”

Alan Chang — Assistant Professor of Mathematics who taught Ardan in Introduction to Analysis, a 400-level course — noted that Ardan was an exceptional student. 

“He completed all of my exams in less than a third of the allocated time and answered every question correctly,” Chang wrote in an email to Student Life. “On one of my midterms, I included a fun and tricky bonus problem designed to challenge even the strongest students. Ardan was the only one of my 62 students to solve it.”

William Lenihan — Teaching Professor of Music, and Director of Jazz Performance —  met Ardan when he auditioned for Jazz Combo, a selective performance group at WashU.

“I noticed immediately that he played with a sense of understanding of the music that is uncommon for someone his age,” Lenihan said. “He had a sense of knowing that made it musical and expressive.”

Aside from Jazz Combo, Lenihan relied on Ardan as a pianist for select performances in the community, including at a charity event and at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.

Apart from the music they rehearsed, Ardan enjoyed experimenting including with the musical compositions they wrote and with new foods they tried. 

“We can’t talk about Ardan without talking about the experimental — it’s like, if you aren’t trying something new, you’re not living. That was Ardan’s life,” Mike Carlisle said.

While at WashU, Ardan tutored fellow students in a variety of subjects, and in high school they volunteered at a center for children with developmental disabilities. They objected to the designation of the children as “disabled” and said that the children just didn’t conform to contrived societal standards.

“To Ardan, each individual was as an instrument in a grand symphony, each contributing his, her, or their unique voices,” Mike Carlisle wrote in a eulogy delivered at Ardan’s memorial service. “I pray that those who were granted the privilege [of knowing him] will help his song propagate forward and allow their voices [to] contribute to the grand symphony Ardan longed to hear.”

Professor Lillios emphasized how Ardan’s curious and experimental personality allowed him to live a vibrant and fulfilling life.

“Life is short and precious, and Ardan, in the brief time that he was on this Earth, had a big impact on his community and lived a very positive life. While he worked very hard, I know he embraced life with vigor,” Lillios said. “A big takeaway for me is, how are we spending our time? Because he spent his time learning and experiencing as many things as he could.” 

 

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