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A Return with a Purpose
New Alumni Relations director returns to her ORU roots
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Hailing from Ocean City, Md., Bounds was a pioneer when she first came as a student to ORU. "Nobody in my family had ever gone [to college]--my mother's side or my father's side--so it was a huge step," Bounds recalled.
Bounds refers to her college experience as "some of the most memorable years of my life." After graduation, Bounds, who majored in business administration and also began work on her MBA, returned to Maryland and established successful careers in real estate (specifically, land acquisition), sales, and management. Each of those previous experiences, Bounds said, "always brought me to the next level...I really feel as if it all led to me coming back here at this particular time. My heart and purpose is more toward ministry and less on climbing the ladder."
As an alumnus who admittedly "got lost in the shuffle" after leaving ORU, Bounds has a vision to help ensure that that doesn't happen to others. "I was at a place in my career where I was able to make sizable contributions to various ministries and charities, but ORU wasn't on my mind. If I had remained in touch in those early years and hadn't lost contact, ORU would have been in that mix." She wants to target younger alumni specifically. "We're thinking if we can cultivate that relationship [early on] and keep in close touch with them, it's a long-term investment that will pay off down the road, for them and for ORU as a whole."
"One hundred percent behind the university" in her new position, Bounds says that she always felt that ORU was a great place. "I love when the chapel speakers come in and say, 'I've been everywhere, but there's no place like ORU,'" Bounds said with a smile. "You always get the sense that it's the best."
Read more about Natalie in the fall issue of Excellence magazine.
