“My wife, Maria, and I are intentional about allowing our daughter, Ella Grace, to discover her own passions,” says Jared Slibeck ’97. “When it was time for Ella to choose a college, we visited several schools — all sizes and in a variety of locations. Ella loves to travel, and we knew she was open to any location. We also knew she was interested in pursuing a career in medicine.”
Jared and his wife, Maria (Dobson) Slibeck ’97, have a deep connection to Olivet Nazarene University. They met while they were ONU students. Jared holds a bachelor’s degree in business marketing and currently works in robotics and computer-assisted surgery equipment sales for Stryker. Maria holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing and had a long career as a NICU nurse.
Other members of Ella’s family who are ONU graduates include Suella (Maddy) Slibeck ’67, her grandmother, and Howard Slibeck ’68, her grandfather, who met at ONU; Cathy (Dobson) ’91 and Rick DeFries ’88, her aunt and uncle, who met at ONU; and her cousin, Jordan DeFries ’20, and his wife, Brooke (Whetstone) DeFries ’20, who met at ONU. 
Discovering ONU Anew
The Slibecks chose to go through the campus visit process with Ella so she could make her own choice for her career path. Even though their family had visited campus together several times, they wanted this visit to be focused on Ella. Jared recalls the day of their Purple & Gold Days campus visit in 2021 very clearly.
“The intentionality and attention that we experienced at ONU were different from any other school we’d visited,” he says. “Dr. Mike Pyle, who was chair of ONU’s Walker School of STEM at that time, sat down and talked with Ella Grace and us that day. When we left campus after the visit, Ella was the first to say that ONU was where she wanted to go for her college education.”
During her enrollment process, Ella received a scholarship to be an equipment manager for ONU’s football team. She served in that role throughout all four years at ONU and was the head equipment manager in her senior year. After she graduated in 2025, head coach Avante Mitchell started a servant leadership award in her honor.
Dedication to Tiger sports also runs deep in the Slibeck family. Jared played football at ONU, and Maria was a member of the volleyball team. Maria’s sister, Cathy, played volleyball and basketball for ONU and went on to serve as the women’s basketball coach after graduation. Cathy’s husband, Rick, played baseball at ONU.
“As parents of an ONU student, we were impressed by the relationships our daughter formed across campus in the course of daily living,” Jared says. “The personal attention that she received from her professors was a great encouragement to her.”
“We are also grateful for the way ONU balances Christian education with an active, thriving sports program. Seeing athletes encounter God at ONU has been a great blessing for Ella and for our family.”
Ready for the Next Chapter
As Ella approached her graduation from ONU this past May with a bachelor’s degree in biology, she answered God’s call to become a global missionary with the Church of the Nazarene.
“I know many parents are concerned about what their kids are going to do after they graduate,” Jared says. “Ella told us about her plans to serve for a year in Papua New Guinea, go into medicine and serve the Lord in medical missions. There is a long history of mission connections in our family, and we have faith that God has a plan for Ella to serve.”
Ella will be the first global missionary to come from the Eastern Kentucky District of the Church of the Nazarene.
“Ashland First Church of the Nazarene is her sending church,” Suella, Ella’s grandmother, says. “She is also one of the youngest sponsored missionaries.”
Stepping out in faith, Jared, Maria and their son, Elijah, traveled with Ella to Papua New Guinea in June. They saw firsthand what God is calling Ella to do during the coming year. Maria stayed on with Ella for two months and worked alongside her at Nazarene General Hospital (formerly Kudjip Nazarene Hospital).
“A student can get a certain level of education from just about any accredited university in the U.S.,” Jared says. “But at ONU, students get an education with meaning. They learn how to serve God with the gifts and talents God has given them. They have the opportunity to develop a relationship with God and to do their best for him. My ONU education made me a better person and a better servant for God.”
Plan your student’s campus visit to Olivet Nazarene University by contacting the Office of Admissions at admissions@Olivet.edu or 800-648-1463.
From Olivet The Magazine, The Parent Guide – Autumn 2025. Read the full issue here.
