Jason Pittman Follows Family and Faith to UMO
Jason Pittman Follows Family and Faith to UMO
MOUNT OLIVE- Since its charter in 1951, the University of Mount Olive (UMO) has been attracting students from across the state and across the globe. Offering a wide variety of degrees and personal attention in a faith based environment has drawn many students to attend. That has certainly been the case for Jason Pittman, a junior religion major at UMO.
Pittman comes from a family of UMO alumni. His mother, aunt, and cousins have all graduated from the institution, and they encouraged him to follow the same path. Home schooled in junior high and high school, Pittman attended a local community college before enrolling at UMO.
“When I first came to UMO, I was very introverted. However, after making quite a few friends, mostly in the Religion Department, I have learned to be more open with people.”
Away from the classroom, Pittman spends much of his time broadening his understanding of religion. He is presently studying Koine Greek, the language in which the New Testament was written.
Pittman is a licensed minister out of the Cape Fear Conference of the Original Free Will Baptist denomination. Additionally, Pittman is a devoted member of Blended Fellowship Original Free Will Baptist Mission. The church functions as a place of worship for hearing and deaf members. It also serves as an outreach for the deaf dealing with daily trials in a pro-hearing environment.
Reflecting on his time at UMO, Pittman stated, “I have learned that in order to properly grow in your faith, you need to raise questions because that is how we grow spiritually. We need to learn for ourselves what God has to say about certain topics.”
In the future, Pittman plans to continue to work with church communities and inspire people through religion. He also aspires to become an ordained minister.
Looking back at his journey, Pittman expressed that he is thankful that he followed his family’s footsteps and God’s calling to the UMO Religion Department and can’t wait to see what God has in store for the future.
The University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. The University, sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists, has locations in Mount Olive, New Bern, Wilmington, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Research Triangle Park, Washington, Jacksonville, and in Smithfield at Johnston Community College. For more information, visit old.umo.edu.