“Olivet provided a sanctuary for me and gave me a platform to grow deeper in my faith,” says Kolton Williford. “At Olivet, I built relationships — rooted in the love of the Lord — that will last a lifetime.” From his vantage point today as a development officer, husband, father and follower of Christ, Kolton thanks God for everything he learned at Olivet Nazarene University.
Kolton came to Olivet from Urbana, Illinois, on a football scholarship. “I had accepted Christ when I was 16, and, although the Christian faith wasn’t new to me, I had a lot of learning and maturing to do,” he says. “Drew Benson was my resident advisor in Chapman. He challenged me to go deeper in my walk with the Lord and really mature in my faith. And he not only said it, he modeled it.”
During his freshman year, Kolton met Sarah Walsh ’15 while he was using the printer at Benner Library. After Christmas break, they began dating. They got married in 2017 and are the parents of two daughters.
At Olivet, Kolton was surprised by the professors’ intentionality in building relationships with students. Professor Tim Mercer and his wife, Mary, invited him to join a group of students who met at their home for dinner and conversation. He also went on a mission trip to Thailand with the Mercers.
One of Kolton’s favorite Olivet memories is the mission trip to an inner city Chicago neighborhood, led by JP Troglio, another of Kolton’s mentors on campus. “We were less than an hour from Olivet,” he recalls. “Serving the youth in that neighborhood opened my eyes to the fact that people in our country are living in poverty.”
That realization plus a visit by Jay Height, executive director of Shepherd Community Center in Indianapolis, to the Olivet campus during Kolton’s senior year set the trajectory for his career. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Intercultural Studies and joined the team at Shepherd in 2015. Currently, he serves as the Chief Development Officer, overseeing marketing, communications, development and donor events.
Learn more about how you can become part of Olivet’s mission for many years to come. Contact campaign director Susan Wolff at swolff@olivet.edu or call 815-928-5776 to schedule an appointment with a member of our team.
