Jacob Ogan came to Boyce College from Gray, Tennessee, looking for a place where his faith and his education could grow together. He found both, and more.
Ogan, who graduated with a degree from the Communications Seminary Track, arrived at Boyce after a conversion experience in high school reshaped his priorities for college. He wanted an environment where Christian formation and academic rigor went hand in hand.
“At Boyce I found an environment that held forth opportunities for discipleship and theological formation without academic compromise,” Ogan said.
The communications program combines marketplace-ready training with theological and worldview formation, a pairing that Ogan says proved its value repeatedly over four years.
The program’s practical emphasis stood out from the start. Early coursework grounded students in communication theory, but those concepts quickly gave way to real-world assignments modeled on what the marketplace actually demands. Students can also customize their coursework around specific industries, and an internship requirement ensures they enter the workforce with hands-on experience.
For Ogan, that internship opened a door. His placement with the Commonwealth Policy Center, a Kentucky-based public policy organization, led to a full-time job offer as Director of Research and Publications, a role he will step into following graduation.
He credits the Communications faculty, and particularly Dr. Jason Leverett, with preparing him for that path.
“Dr. Leverett’s Crisis Communication class pushed me to complete large projects under severe time constraints, a skill that has paid dividends in my role in political research and communications,” Ogan said.
Blog-writing assignments gave him the repetitions and confidence to begin submitting work to regional and national outlets, which he says has shaped the trajectory of his post-graduate plans considerably.
More than any single skill, though, Leverett’s insistence on a distinctly Christian approach to marketplace work has stayed with Ogan as he has moved between Christian and secular institutions.
Beyond the Communications program, Ogan credits the Augustine Honors Collegium, overseen by Drs. John Wilsey and Tyler Flatt, and his Senior Thesis work under Dr. Gregory Wills as formative influences. He also points to President R. Albert Mohler Jr., whose public writing and podcast The Briefing shaped how Ogan thinks about faith and public life.
Two years of work in the President’s Office gave Ogan a closer look at that influence.
“Dr. Mohler is the same man both in and out of the spotlight,” Ogan said. “He has modeled what truly convictional leadership looks like at the intersection of faith and politics, an example that will not be soon lost on me.”
As he prepares to enter full-time work in the policy world, Ogan says the formation he received at Boyce extends well beyond professional skills. The student body itself, drawn together by a shared commitment to the gospel, shaped him as much as any class.
“I have formed deep friendships with individuals from a variety of backgrounds who have spurred me on to greater faithfulness as a student, a churchman, and, above all, as a follower of Jesus Christ,” he said.
For students weighing where to study communications, Ogan’s advice is straightforward.
“Boyce College is a unique college atmosphere that is ideal for any student looking to be formed into a thoroughly Christian thinker in the Baptist tradition,” he said.