“I always knew ONU was the place for me,” says Derek Ferris. “My maternal grandfather was the first to come here in the 1950s. My parents and older brother graduated from ONU. I met my wife here, and we both graduated. And in 2021, our daughter graduated from ONU.”
Derek’s student days are the source of some of his best life experiences and memories. Sharing intramural sports and dorm life became the beginning of many of his lifelong friendships. He and his wife met when they were on the cheerleading squad during his senior year. They married right after he graduated. His intention was to work at ONU for one year until she graduated, but God had other plans.
