Refusing to Get Comfortable: It’s How ORU’s Srikanth Srinivasan Continues to Grow

Srikanth Srinivasan

Hometown: Bangalore, India

John Maxwell said, “If we're growing, we're always going to be out of our comfort zone.” It’s great advice, but it can be difficult because comfort is typically a shortcut to easy. But not everyone believes in the easy way. ORU’s Srikanth (Sri) Srinivasan is one of these people. To Sri, there’s no spiritual growth in the easy things, no personal resilience to be found in staying comfortable. 

“When people come to America from another country,” Sri said, “it can be easy to get very comfortable in terms of your space, your privacy, and even your faith. In India, I couldn’t profess my faith, and I had to hide my Bible. This made me uncomfortable and helped me grow. It tested me, provoked my convictions, and challenged me to hold onto my beliefs.”  

A Leap of Faith: Becoming an International Student

Sri, a graduate student at ORU, is originally from Bangalore, India. He started his college career there, and while attending classes, he began his Christian ministry. However, after earning his degree in engineering and computer science, Sri felt called to expand his ministry. This calling led him to ORU, but coming to ORU was a big step outside Sri’s comfort zone. 

“Enrolling at ORU was a leap of faith for me,” Sir said. “I didn’t know if my parents would support me in this. They wanted me to work as an engineer. I didn’t know if I could tell them that I wanted to pursue theology, but I was living by faith, and that pushed me to trust God. Recently, the Lord has been working on my parents’ hearts, and I was actually able to tell them what the Lord is doing in me and through me.”

Moving 9,000 miles to attend ORU, Sri found a university that challenges him to grow, to be resilient in his spirit, mind, and body. At ORU, growth isn’t limited to just academic pursuits. The aim of an ORU education is to grow the whole person, to build character, and to graduate students who have spiritual integrity. For Sri, an ORU education is about more than just completing courses; it’s about stretching himself beyond books and classrooms. 

“This campus has become my family,” Sri said, “and since coming here, I’ve grown spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. At ORU, I’m continuously challenged, not just as a person, but also in my faith. I’m learning to truly walk with God, and I’m growing in my capacity to lead, to love, and to serve others. The people who knew me before can see the difference.” 

Embracing Leadership Through ORU Missions 

This fall, Sri took another step outside his comfort zone and agreed to lead an ORU Missions team. At ORU, Missions offers students the opportunity to impact global communities while, at the same time, developing leadership and organizational skills. In the summer, Sri will be leading a Missions team in Bolivia, another opportunity to stretch himself in a journey full of big stretches. And while leading this team is new for Sri, he embraces it as another step forward in his growth.

“I strongly believe,” Sri said, “in volunteering for Missions leadership. God’s challenging me to lead people into a strange land, and for God, I'll go anywhere; I'll do anything. Doing things for myself isn’t my ambition. If God wants me to go today, I’ll go!” 

ABOUT ORAL ROBERTS UNIVERSITY 

ORU is a Christian, Spirit-empowered, interdenominational university in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with over a decade of consecutive enrollment growth. Regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, ORU offers over 150 majors, minors, concentrations, and pre-professional programs at the bachelor’s level, ranging from business and engineering to nursing, ministry, and more. Under the leadership of President Dr. William Wilson, ORU is preparing students from all 50 states and 142 nations (from 2019 to 2022) to be whole leaders for the whole world. 

The Wall Street Journal ranked ORU as the #4 university in the nation for student engagement. This ranking is based upon faculty interactions, collaborative learning, critical thinking, real-world applications of student learning, the extent to which classes challenge students, and whether students would recommend a university to others. Niche recognizes ORU as one of the most diverse colleges in America. 

ORU has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as: 

#1 in Undergraduate Teaching
#2 in Most International Students
#3 in Best Value
#6 in Best College for Veterans
#7 in Best Regional Colleges in the West

For more information, visit www.oru.edu.