Collegiate Mission Director Ben Nugent met Christ late in high school and met The Navigators his first day at Illinois State University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history education. He and his wife, Melissa, met at a Navigator summer training program at Glen Eyrie in 1996 and were married in 1998.
Ben and Melissa served at Colorado State University in Fort Collins from 1999 to 2006, then at University of Florida in Gainesville until 2015. Ben also served as a Collegiate regional director while in Florida, then moved to the Midwest in 2015 to serve as director of the Heartland region.
In 2016, the Nugents moved to Colorado Springs, where Ben and Melissa both served as associate Field directors. Ben was appointed director of Navigators 20s in 2017, then became the national Collegiate director in 2019. He recently completed a masters degree in biblical and theological Studies at Denver Seminary. Melissa now serves as the Collegiate operations manager.
Ben and Melissa have adopted two beautiful children: Vivian, age 14, and Sam, who went to be with the Lord in 2023, at the age of 15. In his free time, Ben enjoys golfing, skiing, finding the perfect chocolate malt, and eating anything “Chicago style.”