In the living room, a Ken Burns documentary played as Ava Tueck passed by her father’s chair. She glanced at the screen—just a fleeting image of the Grand Canyon bathed in golden light—and stopped in her tracks. It was the first time Ava saw the full beauty of God’s creation encapsulated on film. This simple image sparked something inside of Ava that would inspire a new life goal: to tell stories that reveal the wonder of the world and the Creator behind it.
Ava at ONU
Ava Tueck is a senior in Olivet Nazarene University’s Communication Department. Ava will be graduating after just three years from Olivet’s Multimedia Communication major with concentrations in Film and Ministry Media. Ava was drawn to Olivet by its strong Christian values and ministry mindset. In her final semester at Olivet, Ava will be participating in the Los Angeles Film Studies Center (LAFSC) program, as a part of her Film Studies concentration. She anticipates this program will teach her necessary skills for her to pursue a career in Ministry Media and documentary filmmaking.
Ministry Mindset
Ava has always had a heart for ministry. However, she did not always believe that ministry was a career path for her. Growing up as a pastor’s kid with both parents working in ministry, Ava wanted to go her own route. It was not until fall of 2024 that Ava began to feel a call towards ministry as a career path through media.
After going on a media mission trip to Guatemala through Olivet, Ava was touched by the way she could impact others through her talents. She saw the ways media impacts other cultures firsthand and realized she could use her skills to make a difference for God’s Kingdom. When she returned home from the mission trip, Ava began to consider adding a Media Ministry concentration to her degree.
Ava’s mother, Esther Tueck, describes the moment she saw Ava’s passion for ministry and media ignite while watching the TV program CBS Sunday Morning.
“I think [Ava] sort of broke down and she was like, ‘I want to do this but do it to show God’s hand at work in people’s lives,” her mother said.
A Passion for Media
Growing up homeschooled by her mother, Ava had opportunities to explore creative opportunities that many in a public-school setting do not have. She explored options such as baking and graphic design. While she enjoyed these pursuits, they did not seem to be the right fit for her. It did not occur to Ava to pursue a career in media until 2020. During the global pandemic, Ava began creating movie trailers with her siblings on iMovie to pass the time. This sparked an interest in filmmaking.
Ava was never deeply interested in documentary films growing up, primarily because she did not watch them often. She distinctly remembers the moment that she realized documentary films were something she would love to work on. One day, as Ava walked past her father watching a Ken Burns documentary, she caught a glimpse of the Grand Canyon on television. The way the image encapsulated the beauty of God’s creation left her awestruck and inspired to showcase the world in a similar way. It was after this interaction that she soon began looking into schools with film programs like Olivet’s.
Where to Next?
While Ava is not sure exactly what God has planned for her just yet, she is confident that her skills in ministry and media will be used to glorify The Lord in whatever career she enters.
“I think God gave us the gift of telling stories to others, and I want to be able to share those authentic stories in a visual form,” says Ava. Her dream is to work for World Vision, creating inspiring documentary-style content that showcases how God is at work and promotes charitable giving to noble causes like clean water. She is excited to finish her final year at Olivet and hopes to build connections in her final year that will help her begin her career in ministry media.
