Journey to Olivet
Jamil Knight arrived on Olivet Nazarene University’s campus ready to play football, but little did he know he would later find himself in the fine arts creating music. Football got Knight in the door, but the music had kept him drawn in.
Jamil Knight is a current Music Recording Arts major with a minor in Communication at Olivet. He is most commonly known for his involvement with the Gospel choir, a singing group offered to Olivet students.
All through high school, Knight played football. He played on the offensive line as a right guard. Olivet coaches came to his school in Texas and recruited him to come play football for Olivet, which is how he was introduced to the school. In the Fall of 2022, Knight played under the bright lights of Ward Field as a Tiger.
When asked the reason for attending Olivet, Knight said it was originally for football, but it later expanded to the spiritual components on campus that helped him grow in his faith journey.
“At first, the majority of it was football, to actually be able to continue playing the sport that I love in college,” Knight says, “And as I started to attend Olivet, it was more just the presence of God on the campus, and how inviting the campus was”.
Knight said that the campus has come to feel like a home and is the place he wants to be to continue his studies.
Rooted in Gospel Music
As Knight explored the additional things Olivet has to offer, he discovered and grew his love for music. From a young age, as the great-grandson of a Baptist minister, he has been exposed to Black gospel music for his whole life.
Knight had many members of his family involved in worship, and “my grandma, or my mom, or my aunt would always be on the praise team to help out with worshiping and singing.” Gospel music was something that had been ingrained in Knight as a child and has become integrated into his college extracurriculars.
On Monday nights at 7 PM, Knight can be found rehearsing with Proclamation Gospel Choir, a choir group within Olivet’s School of Music. He joined this choir second semester of his freshman year at Olivet. It has become an important part of his Olivet journey, as it is a time when he can worship with others and has even had solo opportunities.
A key mentor to Knight is Dr. Marvin Jones, a professor at Olivet’s School of Music. Dr. Jones is also the director of the Gospel choir. “Jamil leads the choir is their worship and you can see the joy of the Lord on his face as he sings and leads worship,” Jones says.
Outside of the Gospel choir, Knight can be found recording, producing, and releasing music. His music can be found on all music streaming platforms under the name “KNITE”. Knight has begun purchasing the proper equipment for creating music and hopes to expand his equipment to help him achieve a more professional sound, assisting him in his pursuit of music recording arts.
