February 2025

A member of the Alumni Relations Department had the privilege to accompany four BJU student leaders to the 2025 United States Naval Academy Leadership Conference. The three full days of sessions, panels, seminars and discussion groups featured a 4-star Admiral in the Navy, the former CEO of Pepsi and current Amazon board member, a former NASA astronaut, a Chinese immigrant professor who works in Washington D.C. in foreign policy and affairs, former Navy SEALS, Marine Corps officers and more.

Hearing from these experts in the field of leadership was truly exciting, but the real privilege was the opportunity to witness our BJU students taking a bold stand for Christ with their conduct, conversation, and participation in the sessions and the small group discussions. By lunchtime on the second day, one BJU student—Daniel Wood—was engaged in sharing the Gospel with a Navy ROTC student from the University of Rutgers—a professing atheist. At dinner that night two more students—Ashlyn Feller and Josiah Sherill—were discussing original sin with a Navy ROTC student from Jacksonville University who was familiar with the Bible but unfamiliar with doctrinally sound theology.

With delegates from 61 universities including MIT, Cornell, Yale, Harvard, the Citadel, VMI, Ohio State University, Penn State University, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Texas, Wake Forest and West Point, our Bob Jones University students stood shoulder to shoulder with their peers.  They were academically and spiritually prepared for this moment—to share their faith boldly without fear and to successfully engage on the subject of leadership. Especially encouraging was their ability to identify and articulate the problems with ideologies when they conflicted with a biblical worldview.

BJU student Abby Lovegrove summarized the experience well: “This conference proved to me more than ever that we have the truth. We have a foundation for morality (God’s Word), we have a purpose behind loving others (Christ’s example), and we have an eternal hope that guides our decision making in every area of life (provided by the Holy Spirit).” 

What a great reminder of the transformative work in the lives of students—accomplished by God through the partnership of parents, local churches and the mission of Bob Jones University.

Ashlyn Feller (President, BJU Student Body) plans to grow the interior design consulting business she started while in undergrad.

Josiah Sherill (Director, Community Service Council) has been accepted to Detroit Theological Seminary upon graduation in May.

Abby Lovegrove (Liaison, Student Leadership Council Association) has been accepted to BJU Seminary and will be a graduate assistant in the Student Care office upon graduation in May.

Daniel Wood (Assistant to the Director, Inter Society Council Executive Committee) is already hired as a mechanical engineer in Pennsylvania upon graduation in May.