Iron Sharpens Iron: How ORU’s Adonai Watson Found a Brotherhood on Campus
Hometown: Fort Mill, South Carolina
Business and Ministry
Arriving at Oral Roberts University (ORU) from Fort Mill, South Carolina, sophomore
Adonai Watson was searching for a college experience where “if you need help, you
can find help. And everyone actually knows each other.” Adonai wanted the opposite
of a congested, impersonal university, where students get lost in the crowd and the
teaching feels disconnected.
“I grew up in a private, Christian school,” Adonai said, “and the education there was more personalized. I got to know my teachers, and those types of opportunities are a big reason I chose ORU. My professors, like Dr. (James) Russell and Dr. (Bill) Crawford, actually care about their students. They pray over us, and before a lecture starts, we pray together as a class. I definitely found the connection I was searching for.”
Connection at ORU doesn’t stop in the classroom; it’s part of ORU’s campus-wide culture. At every university, you’ll find some form of connection … in student clubs, at athletic events, and in the dining halls. In this, ORU is similar to other universities. But at ORU, the difference is found in the sacred connection students experience—where worship ignites something eternal, prayer weaves hearts together, and faith becomes the foundation not just of their education, but of their entire lives. For the men on campus, like Adonai, these sacred connections are foundational to the sense of family that’s found at ORU.
"It can be weird living away from home, but thankfully, I found relationships I could trust. When you can trust the people living in proximity to you, that’s important.”
“I got into my dorm,” Adonai said, “and the men treated each other as if we’d always known each other. After that first week, we began to act like brothers. We became close. It can be weird living away from home, but thankfully, I found relationships I could trust. When you can trust the people living in proximity to you, that’s important.”
To deepen these connections, Adonai took it upon himself to be a sort of historian,
chronicling the lives of ORU men through social media and photography. On Instagram,
he launched an account for his dorm floor, prompting other floors to follow. And as
a photographer, he began recording ORU lives using Fuji film, taking more than 200
pictures across campus and the city of Tulsa.
The lives that Adonai chronicled … he describes them as ORU’s “brotherhood.” He defines this as a “community of men who build each other up and who help each other out … like iron sharpening iron.” From the outside, some might call this “dorm life.” Maybe that’s all it is at other universities, but at ORU, it’s something so much more.
“As a floor,” Adonai said, “we spend time studying the Bible, and we sharpen one another through Scripture. We also help each other through prayer. In every hall meeting, we pray for those who need it, and we have praise reports too, so we rejoice for our brothers. The dorms at ORU offer a Christian brotherhood. It’s there that men connect, and together, we share our lives for the benefit of God’s Kingdom.”
UNIVERSITY BRIEF
ORU is a Christian, Spirit-empowered, interdenominational university in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with 16 years 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 171 nations in the last 5 years to be whole leaders for the whole world.
The Wall Street Journal ranked ORU as the #8 university in the nation for student experience and one of America's Best Colleges (2025). This new category rates the best colleges in the U.S. to have a great experience while attending. This ranking is powered by one of the largest-ever independent surveys of verified college students and recent graduates in the United States. Niche has recognized ORU as one of the top 25 most diverse colleges in America, the # 1 best Christian college in Oklahoma, and the # 1 in Oklahoma for diversity. Princeton Review ranked ORU as the best regional college, and College Raptor ranked ORU as a Hidden Gem in the Southwest. Heritage.org classified ORU as a great option for families prioritizing freedom, opportunity, and civil society.
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.