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ORU Student Response Speakers: Where Are They Now?
Editor's note: In the process of assembling this story, we were unable to reach several of our past student response speakers. Any information or help in contacting them would be appreciated!
The 2000s
| Click Photo to Enlarge Jamie Weathers |
Year: 2008
Current location: Norman, Oklahoma
Current occupation: Student at University of Oklahoma Law School
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
"It was at ORU that I made lasting relationships with my nearest and dearest friends. At ORU, God spoke to me about going to law school, and it was through the various opportunities at ORU that I was able to make contacts in different political and social arenas. At ORU, I felt so encouraged by the professors, and they would do whatever they could to see me succeed. After leaving ORU I have realized how precious my time was there. To be around a group of believers and have the opportunity to grow and challenge one another is a priceless gift."
| Click Photo to Enlarge Pradeepan Jeevamanoharan |
Year: 2007
Current location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Current occupation: Staff member at Generation Church
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
ORU has greatly impacted me and has launched me into what I'm doing right now. I live with one of the pastors here at this church and am getting personally mentored. I met him through ORU Missions. Many of the ministry dreams and conversations my friends and I had [in the cafeteria] are coming to pass now. It's not all glamorous, but it's a start. I loved thinking big at ORU. I made no small plans there. Now it's hard, but doing the work of the ministry is rewarding. I learned a lot about the spirit, the prophetic, leadership, discipline, passion, creativity and adventure at ORU. I feel like, more than anything, ORU tapped into my wild nature and helped me to control and release the adventure inside of me in a strategic way that advances the kingdom of God.
| Click Photo to Enlarge Dominic Russo |
Year: 2005
Current location: Detroit, Michigan
Current occupation: Evangelist
Family: Married to Lindsay (in May 2008)
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
ORU is the number-one reason our international ministry took off. God used ORU to both inspire and prepare me for the work I am now doing... Many times, I'll be in my hotel room praying and preparing for one of our crusade services overseas, and I'll think back to a chapel service or even walking and praying in the Prayer Gardens at night. It was those unforgettable moments with God that are my foundation today.
| Click Photo to Enlarge Clifford Moore & kindegartners |
Year: 2004
Current location: Sendai, Japan
Current occupation: English teacher (with some supervisory capacities) at MeySen Academy
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
It was really during my time at ORU that God began to press on my heart His love for the people of Japan. I'd been interested in going there before, but not for eternally viable reasons. I attended ORU for both my undergraduate and graduate courses. While I immediately saw the relevance of my M.A. (which was in teaching English as a second language) for my work, I did not know that my undergraduate work (Organizational/ Interpersonal Communication) would be as beneficial as it has been. Though I don't plan to permanently pursue the field of human resources, I find that much of the work I do beyond teaching is leaning toward HR. In a small company like mine where the cultures of Japan and America intermingle with one another, I often ensure fewer breakdowns in cross-cultural communication. I was also in student leadership [at ORU], which prepared me for many of the issues I face on the job and in my life here in Japan. Had God had plans for me to go elsewhere, He could have still shown me the same things; but for me, God chose ORU as the environment to do these things. All glory to Him, and I am thankful for my time at ORU as I can see my time there has directly helped me in what I do now. I'm thankful for the wonderful professors who love God and are professionally competent, and the many friendships that I've gained from ORU.
| Click Photo to Enlarge Joshua Showman |
Year: 2003
Current location: Tulsa, Oklahoma (previously Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Current occupation: Software specialist for Philips-Respironics
Family: Married to Leanne (Dennis) Showman 03
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
Attending ORU was the most formative experience of my life. I think it's obvious to those of us who are affiliated with ORU that it was and is the faculty and staff that made ORU special and kept the vision fresh and alive. Add students to the mix and you get something that's hard to describe. What can compare to a community of people where some are trying to discover God's will for their lives and some are preparing others to follow it? It could be messy and not everyone had the same experience, but everyone who was "seeking" was changed in some important way. I love that campus on South Lewis Avenue for all the things that happened to me while there. I picked my major sitting in Christ's Chapel, I got engaged in the Prayer Gardens, I watched the events of 9-11 in the Fishbowl, my first office ever was in the basement of the Student Center and I made lifelong friends in rooms that smelled like the '70s. I'll never forget my first hall meeting, my last final exam and a ton of things that happened in between. I took all of that with me the day I hung my tie on the stair-rail to the GC and then left campus for the last time as a student. I carry it still now that I'm "in the world" and I know I always will.
| Click Photo to Enlarge Jacob Knepper & wife |
Year: 2001
Current location: Washington, D.C. metro area
Current occupation: Analyst for the U.S. Department of Justice
Family: Married to Jennifer
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
My time at ORU provided an opportunity for me to dedicate four years to laying a foundation of seeking to know, to walk with and love God. Those four years helped secure in me an orientation towards seeking God, like a compass needle always returns to north. Without doubt, I am also so thankful for the chance to be surrounded by some of the greatest friends and quality people I've ever met; through encouragement from and conversations with friends and teachers, I came out to D.C. for law school, and while here, through my roommate Alan Faulk, met my beautiful wife.
The 1990s
| Click Photo to Enlarge Vanessa Horn & family |
Year: 1996
Current location: Kernersville, North Carolina
Current occupation: Independent business consultant (via www.networkingsavvy.com)
Family: Married to Forrest Horn 97 with two children: Jonathan, 5, and Caleb, 3, and a baby due in May 2009!
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
During my college decision process in high school, I was really torn between my desire to attend an Ivy League university and the calling I felt to attend ORU. I battled it for a while, but ended up following my heart and what I felt God wanted me to do. I am so glad I did. My dad told me before I left to ORU that it was more important who I became, rather than just what I studied. ORU afforded me the opportunity to find and surround myself with like-minded people. We grew in our walks with the Lord, we explored how we could be most influential in our fields of study and salt and light to the world. So much was deposited into me during my four years there; I drew upon that for years. I still have very dear friendships that started at ORU. Most importantly, I met my lifetime partner, my husband Forrest, there.
| Click Photo to Enlarge Matthew Kruse & family |
Year: 1995
Current location: Boston, Massachusetts
Current occupation: Finance director for a school, church planter
Family: Married to Grace with four children: Matthew, 8, Brandon, 6, Julia, 4 and Callie (infant)
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
As an 18-year-old mama's boy who was getting away from home for the first time and was looking for a Jesus-centered undergrad experience, ORU was made to order. Lifelong friendships, excellent professors at the grassroots level, tons of extracurricular opportunities and a commitment to threading Jesus and His truth through every subject made it a great place to be nurtured for those four years.
| Click Photo to Enlarge Jason Ophus |
Year: 1993
Current location: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Current occupation: Sales representative for Roche Laboratories Inc., Alumni Board member
Family: Married to Kerri with four children: Chase, 12, Grace, 10, Andrew, 10 and Emma, 5
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
My time at ORU affected me very positively because I established so many great friendships, many with whom I still keep in touch today. And, of course, I met my future wife at ORU, so that by itself made it all worth it. I was a National Merit Scholar coming out of high school, so I could have attended nearly any university I wanted to, but I knew that ORU was where I was supposed to be. My degree in Business Marketing opened the door for my first position in sales at Tax and Accounting Software Corporation (8 years), and for my transition to my current position with Roche Laboratories. Attending ORU was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
| Click Photo to Enlarge Nanette & Will Temby |
Year: 1991
Current location: Colorado Spring, Colorado
Current occupation: Associate director of regional training for Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Family: Married to Will, with five children: Ethan, 7 and Amelia, 6, and stepchildren Matthew, 21, Amanda, 18 and Christopher, 14
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
ORU will have a lifelong impact on me, there is no doubt. Each time I am asked where I went to college, the question opens the door for me to share my beliefs and sometimes overcome a few stereotypes as well. In my senior response, I quoted Tom Peters, the author of "In Search of Excellence," and challenged the graduating class, myself included, with the responsibility of being excellent. I still believe, as I did then, that the world needs to see Christians who hold up a standard of excellence--in our faith, in our families and in our professions. ORU, and the people I met there, started me on that journey toward excellence. Also, I would love to hear from other friends who might happen to see this article...Susan, Kelly, Johnny, Jeff--are you out there?
| Click Photo to Enlarge Craig Nanna & family |
Year: 1990
Current location: Reading, Pennsylvania
Current occupation: Pastor of Reading DOVE Christian Ministry Center
Family: Married to Tracie (Unmuth) 91 with three children: Stephen, 16, Joshua, 15 and Elisa, 13.
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
ORU is truly where I learned to hear God's voice and was stirred with a vision to plant churches in the darkest corners of the globe. I am now a part of an oversight team with DOVE Christian Fellowship International that oversees the churches in the U.S., as well as a Latin America team, specifically involved in the nation of Peru.
The 1980s
| Click Photo to Enlarge Bob Vander Lugt & family |
Year: 1987
Current location: Plano, Texas
Current occupation: Director of export compliance for Northrop Grumman Corporation (national security products provider)
Family: Married to Ruthie (McCutchan-A) with one child: Joel Robert, 1 ("He is our miracle baby, born a week before our 19th wedding anniversary, after 15 years of believing God," proud father Bob adds.)
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
God sent me to ORU as part of His plan to make me who He wants me to be. He's still working on me, but I sure wouldn't be where I am today, learning to really live by faith, without the opportunities and encouragement I had at ORU to keep the spirit man ascendant even as I was strengthening the mind and body.
| Click Photo to Enlarge Eric Watt |
Year: 1984
Current location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Current occupation: Founder of RUN Ministries and mPOWR.org, senior pastor of Greenbrier Church
Family: Married to Becky, with two children: Ian, 13 and Kiersti, 8
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
ORU was a powerful catalyst in my life that helped me to focus on opening new doors of opportunity and ministry for people living at the "last mile" on earth. Going where "His light is dim and His voice is heard small" has been a great motivation for me.
| Click Photo to Enlarge Robert Koke & family |
Year: 1982
Current location: Austin, Texas
Current occupation: Senior pastor and leader at Shoreline Christian Center
Family: Married to Laura with three children: Luke, 19, Caleb, 16 and Danielle, 14
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
ORU rocked my world. From realizing that God is still a miracle-working God, to dreaming big dreams, to understanding how important prayer and faith is, to expanding my understanding of the world and how it works, to being challenged by life-giving friendships, to fueling my love for God and the beauty of His finished work...ORU was a major part of forming my understanding of God and His will for my life.
The 1970s
| Click Photo to Enlarge Toni Fickett & family |
Year: 1979
Current location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin
Current occupation: Teammate to husband, who is a pastor, and mother
Family: Married to John Fickett 78 with seven sons: Micah, 25, Nathanael, 23, Gabriel, 22, Judah, 19, Seth, 16, Asher, 14 and Baruch, 11
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
ORU's emphasis on the development of body, mind and spirit impacted me to have all parts of my life subject to Christ, my Lord. The vision casting of going to every person's world confirmed my call to go wherever God wanted me to and do whatever God had for me to do. My years at ORU were years of phenomenal spiritual growth for me.
| Click Photo to Enlarge L to R-Russell Hodge, Dick Ringness, Ron Ringness |
Year: 1972
Current location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Current occupation: Pharmaceutical sales
Family: Married to Sheri with one daughter, Kara, 30
How did your time at ORU impact who you are and what you do today?
I have felt a responsibility to stand for truth and accountability in my job. Also, I have felt a need to serve others as well as serving in my local church
