What’s next?

May 21 was my last day at ORU.  The time came to cut the cord. Yes, it was my choice to leave – no one asked me to. I’d been talking to my husband about getting into something new for a while. I actually felt released to leave. What I was called there to do – I did. Alumni came together beautifully to support our alma mater. The stage is set for the next act. What’s christianity if it isn’t built on a life of faith?

 I originally moved to Tulsa in 2006 because my 17 year old son wanted to attend ORU.  That’s how I came to work at ORU.  He did attend for a while, but decided after a year that it wasn’t for him. I think it’s fair to say he’s still trying to decide what is “for him”. That’s ok. Now I”m doing the same thing. I actually questioned God for bringing me to Tulsa when my son said he didn’t find what he was looking for at ORU. So many dear friends said in regard to all that was happening at ORU at the time – “You are here for such a time as this”.  I believe it’s true. ORU was going through a really rough time. Alumni were confused, angry and expressing all sorts of emotions. I was there to help them. God was at work, and ORU is in a totally different place now. 

The big thing that happened in my life has nothing to do with ORU. God brought Mike into my life. What a wonderul man. We just celebratged our 2 year anniversary last Saturday. I certainly didn’t come to Tulsa to find a husband. I thought I’d had my last one of those (ha ha). Seriously, God works, and He works constantly. I’m enjoying the experience of waiting on Him for my next career move. There are so many things I want to do.

All of my previous work experiences have always prepared me for the “next thing”.

Speaking to the Seniors

Friday is commencement rehearsal. I have a few things I’d like to share with the students. And low and behold, Dr. Jernigan is going to let me.

• My name is Natalie Adams, I’m the Director of Alumni Relations for ORU.
• It was May 1988 – I sat right over there (pointing) in the business section.
• My family sat right up there (again, pointing).
• I didn’t hear a thing that was said at my commencement, but I loved every minute.  I don’t even remember who our speaker was. I don’t remember coming to rehearsal.
• Maybe you’ll do better than me.

I have two things to tell you.

1. I need to tell you who the alumni are.

• They are graduates who have gone on before you – from the classes of 1968 – 2009.
•  They are your family – your brothers and sisters, your moms & dads. In some cases both literally and figuratively.
• They are your support network, your prayer warriors, and for some, even your future employers .
• They support ORU financially, prayerfully and in many volunteer ways. They recruit students. They help keep ORU alive. They are ORU.
• You can find them on the ORU online community, on Facebook, on Twitter, and all the other places you find people. There are 23,000 of them. They are all over the world. You’ll find them back home in your state and maybe your own city. If you need help finding them, I’ll help you.
• Tomorrow, you will receive a bible from an alumnus.  Here is the Bible I received at my graduation (showing them my Bible). It was signed by Oral Roberts. It will always be special to me.
• They – we, the alumni – welcome you in to the family. Which brings me to point number 2.

1. You are about to become an alumnus.

• Don’t ever forget that you’re a student for a short time, and an alumnus forever.
• Stay in touch. Make sure we have a good address for you so that you can get things like your diploma, your yearbook, your graduation photos, and other things in the future like the alumni magazine.
• You are ORU. We are proud of you, and we welcome you.

ORU and the Whole Person Concept

All alumni of our treasured and endeared alma mater will remember hearing the phrase “Whole Man” or in recent times “Whole Person” . What a concept to strive for! I don’t know about you (speaking to alumni), but I took the phrase seriously.  What does it mean to be whole? As Christians, we feel that God makes it possible for us to at least hope to attain wholeness. Maybe wholeness comes with age and maturity. Maybe it comes with a certain level of spirituality. In any case, we strive, don’t we?

Well, be encouraged that even our young people are striving. The new scholarship program, befittingly called “Whole Person Scholarship” enabled more than 300 well-qualified students to attend ORU that  otherwise would not have been able to. Remember the components? Spirit, Mind and Body? Yes, those are still on flag poles and in the honor code.

Through your donations, which are equally matched by the Whole Person Scholarship Fund, (established byu the Green family), the entrance standard is being raised to a higher level. I’ve heard faculty say that the scholarship recipients bring a fresh creativity to the classroom. The faculty are being stretched to new academic heights.

On many fronts, ORU looks better than you would imagine. I count it a blessing to walk this campus each day. God is still working miracles, and you can see some of them here.  Be proud of ORU. Come see.  To help us reach our goal by April 30, go to oru.edu/give.

Thoughts about Oral Roberts’ passing

Yesterday, Oral Roberts passed away. Moments after I returned to my desk from a luncheon with over 40 other ORU alumni, the news came in. It was a shock, of course, and I had little time to let it sink in. Within minutes, I sent out an e-mail to the 14,000 alumni for whom I have e-mail addresses and then I had one minute to get to a meeting where I needed to give an alumni update to colleagues who came in town for a two-day training session.  After I returned from that session, the calls and e-mails were coming in. The memorial service information had not been given to us yet, so I had little to tell alumni who were searching for answers. Many people who called in wanted to share their heart, and I am glad I could be there to mourn with them.

How will our chancellor’s death affect ORU? Only time will tell. We will mourn our loss, and at the same time rejoice that he is in heaven. I read the Tulsa World news release and the reader’s comments posted below. I was  amazed at the harshness of the world. I wonder how people who have no personal knowledge or relationship with Oral Roberts or ORU say such hurtful and untrue things – especially at a time like this.  To me, it’s the evidence of a miserable existence when one can conjure up such awful thoughts and then subject others to their venomous expression.  It truly negatively affects the experience of the other readers - comments containing appreciation, sorrow, and other truly heartfelt emotions.

Alumni support has been incredible. Alumni are returning to Tulsa from all over the U.S. So many people have been touched by Oral Roberts, and I consider myself blessed to have been touched personally by his life and his ministry.

Conversations with alumni

Every day in my office is different. You may have the type of job where nothing changes – paper in, paper out.  It’s definitely not like that here, and I welcome the challenges (and the highlights) that come with being the alumni director.

For example, alumni in the Winston Salem area met at a restaurant area had dinner on Friday night before they went to the ORU vs. Wake Forest game. Several of them e-mailed me to tell me how much fun they had and thanked me for helping them arrange it. How nice!

Now when I refer to challenges, I have them as well. A group of our students are calling alumni right now as part of the Whole Person Scholarship fund-raising initiative. Although most alumni are supportive, once in a while a student encounters an alumnus who is unpleasant. Sometimes, alumni even hang up on the students – which baffles me.  I’ve instructed students that I want to reach out personally to any alumnus who has an issue with ORU, no matter what it is. Not only do I want to remedy the situation if at all possible, I also want to make sure that the whole experience of calling alumni is a positive experience for our students. Sometimes that means helping them understand some of the things that trouble alumni – if I can.

No, my personality is not the “I-have-to-fix-everyone” type, but as a believer and an optimist, I do hope and pray that alumni can be whole in every aspect – living a life of victory. Yes, it is possible.

 

A Day in the Life of…

One of the things I need to remind myself of is that ORU alumni don’t live and breathe ORU.

Before I came to work at ORU three years ago, I probably only thought about ORU about once or twice a year. I had a career, a family and political, church and various other club involvements. It wasn’t until after quizzing my high school junior about what college weekends he wanted to attend that I began to think about ORU more. I was assuming that he’d want to attend some college weekends up and down the east coast, since we lived in Maryland and his friends were going to various schools on that side of the U.S.  His answer to my pestering questions was, “Mom, if I go anywhere, it will be to ORU”. Talk about a knock on the forehead. I suppose that because I had always spoken favorably of my alma mater that he’d developed a long-distance liking to ORU. My response was, “Well, I’m sure they must have a website – let’s get online and see.” The rest is recent history.  

ORU became a large part of my life, and what a coaster ride it has been. I enjoy coming to the campus each morning and I always have trouble turning the computer off inthe evening (just ask my husband). Planning events and communicating with alumni is like one big hobby. I’ve reconnected with long lost friends, and I’ve made so many new friends.

I hope to share a little more of myself with you, and I hope that in the process, you’ll see yourself as a vital part of what’s still happening in my life and at ORU. This blog will be a little more personal than what you are accustomed to seeing in the magazine, on the web and in the eNewsletters. It will be a “behind the scenes” look. Hope you enjoy, and I hope you relate.