“Olivet Nazarene University taught me how to be an effective Christian in today’s world,” says U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Sandell ’07, a mass communications major. “Everything Olivet does is to prepare students for the world as a mission field. No matter what career you choose, you are on the mission field. Entering the world with a Christian worldview has helped me to live out my faith every day.”
Alongside him through everything is his wife, Amy (Ferguson) Sandell ’07, who majored in marketing at Olivet. He met Amy in a Bible study group hosted by Dr. Neal and Cathy McMullian. Kevin and Amy began dating in 2004 and married in 2006, just before their senior year. Today, they are the parents of 4 children, ages 8 to 13.
During his years at Olivet, Kevin was one of 40 cadets in Olivet’s Roaring Tiger Battalion, and one of five cadets who graduated and were commissioned on the same day in 2007. “Olivet is so military friendly,” he says. “I’ve always appreciated Olivet’s love and respect for those who serve. Several of our professors were military veterans. The Christ-focused education I received at Olivet, including my ROTC training, made facing what I would face after graduation a lot easier.”
The Next Chapter
“After graduation” for Kevin has included many challenges and adventures. His military career includes a one-year deployment to Afghanistan as a platoon leader; a second deployment to Afghanistan as a public affairs officer; and a deployment to Kosovo as a public affairs officer.
His other assignments were to Fort Meade in Maryland; Fort Drum in upstate New York; Fort Hood in Texas; Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina; Fort Knox in Kentucky; and now the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, in Arlington, Virginia.
Along the way, Kevin has enjoyed many career successes.
He completed training to become an Army public affairs officer and has served in that role since 2011. “I love my job because no two days are ever the same,” he says. “And there is never a dull day in this exciting and dynamic field.”
In 2012, he received the Bronze Star Medal for his meritorious service during his second deployment to Afghanistan. He has also received other awards and decorations commensurate with his time in service
and combat deployments.
In 2013 — while commander of a public affairs detachment at Fort Hood — he served as the media operations officer for the court martial of Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan, who shot and killed 13 people and wounded 32 at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009. “Journalists came into the courtroom to observe the proceedings,” Kevin recalls. “There were more than 100 reporters from 60 media outlets present. My role was to facilitate their access to the courtroom and answer their questions about the proceedings. This was in a very high security environment. The shooter was flown in by helicopter from a county jail to Fort Hood every day.”
In 2019, he was accepted into a master’s degree program in public relations and corporate communications at Georgetown University. The U.S. Army covered the cost of this 16-month program. “I was a full-time student,” he says. “The networking I was able to do with my professors, classmates and professional communicators was priceless.”
In June 2025, Kevin began his current assignment in Defense Press Operations for the Department of Defense (DOD) at the Pentagon. “Our team is made up of military from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and civilians,” he says. “All of us are communications officers, and we work together to get the DOD’s messaging out. We interact with international and national news media on a daily basis. Reporters from all major news outlets are resident journalists in the Pentagon. They come into our workspace and ask us questions all the time.”
With Thanks to Olivet
Kevin credits his communications and journalism professors at Olivet for preparing him well for his current assignment, as well as for all his previous assignments and his master’s degree program. “My four years of comms classes at Olivet were some of the best years of my life,” he says. “I was blessed to have professors who gave so much of themselves so that their students were set for success.”
He fondly recalls his public speaking and comms classes with Dr. Jay Martinson ’86 and Dr. Beth Patrick-Trippel [NO ONU DEGREES]. As a staff member for what was then known as The GlimmerGlass, the student newspaper, he honed his writing and journalism skills.
Kevin learned all about television news from Professor Mark Bishop ’93, who also worked for a Chicago television station at the time.
As one of the co-hosts of Access ONU, the campus television news program, Kevin was sure he wanted to be a television news reporter. But after completing a summer internship with his hometown television station in Wisconsin, he realized that there was another calling for him.
He also appreciates the volunteer service hours that Olivet required during his undergraduate years. Interacting with people in the local community helped him develop empathy for others and gave him experience in what selfless service truly means. One of his volunteer assignments, for example, was driving a senior citizen to weekly medical appointments at 6 a.m.
“I actually looked forward to those times with the man I was helping,” Kevin says. “I also had many opportunities to see my classmates and professors constantly giving of themselves. Those experiences have served me well as a military officer, a husband, a father and a follower of Jesus.”
To learn more about majors in Olivet’s Department of Communication and University enrollment, contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@olivet.edu or 800-648-1463.
