More Than Just “Studying”: International Student Linu Paul on Giving Back to the Tulsa Community
Hometown: Wayanad, India
Nursing
The commonly used phrase “studying in the States” offers a limited description of
international students. Without more, this implies that international students arrive
in America, attend university, and do little else besides study. This simply isn’t
true as you’ll see with ORU’s Linu Paul. Yes, Linu came from India to study in the
States, but as a servant leader, he also came to give back to people.
“Doing things that offer eternal value is important to me,” Linu said. “I receive God’s love, and I want to share that love too. My parents raised me this way … to care for others and to open my heart to them. No matter where you go, there are people in your community who need to be cared for.”
Four Miles That Matter
The distance from Wayanad, India (Linu’s hometown) to ORU is approximately 8,700 miles. This, many will think, was the most difficult distance Linu faced in his college journey. But equally difficult for him was the 4 miles separating ORU from University Village, a Tulsa retirement community where students from ORU Outreach serve.
“When I started volunteering at University Village,” Linu said, “it was hard. After a week, I didn’t go, and I decided it wasn’t for me. English isn’t my first language so there’d be conversations that I didn’t understand. I might hear a joke and not realize it was a joke, and somebody’d have to explain it to me.”
Despite being in a new place with new people and navigating a new language, Linu began to question his decision to leave University Village. As somebody who believes in doing “things that offer eternal value,” he says love often takes courage. Leaning into his courage and his heart for others, Linu soon went back to University Village, where he quickly became an outreach leader/coordinator.
“I didn’t let a few obstacles get in the way of what God wants me to do,” Linu said, “which is to offer my time and love to Tulsa’s elderly residents. These people have my heart because they really want to talk to us and to tell us their stories. For a resident, it can be hard when you don’t get frequent visitors or don’t have somebody to talk to. So I pour into them, and they pour into me.”
Linu and his ORU friends at University Village.
Eternal Value Starts Now
Volunteering is part of the “eternal value” mindset that guides Linu in everything he does. “Eternal value” is why he’s studying to be a nurse … to help build hospitals, provide needed medications, and support families in rural India. But his goal isn’t to show love later when he’s more comfortable doing it, when he’s back home amongst people who look like him, talk like him, and live like him. For Linu, cultivating “eternal value” isn’t something that can wait, and he believes all students should act on it now.
“Wherever you are or whatever you’re doing,” Linu said, “there’s always an opportunity to do ministry. Despite having classes, homework, and exams, a lot of ORU students minister to the residents of University Village. It’s a family, and students keep coming back because once you get there and see what the Lord’s doing, you want to stick around. When a resident says they feel loved, that fills your heart, and you can see that God is working through you.”
“Wherever you are or whatever you’re doing,” Linu said, “there’s always an opportunity to do ministry. Despite having classes, homework, and exams, a lot of ORU students minister to the residents of University Village. It’s a family, and students keep coming back because once you get there and see what the Lord’s doing, you want to stick around.”
A photo collage highlighting moments of Linu and his ORU friends.
Nationally Ranked, Globally Recognized
ORU is a Christian, Spirit-empowered, interdenominational university in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with 17 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. In 2024, the Carnegie Foundation recognized ORU with a “Leadership for Public Purpose” award, a distinction earned by only 25 universities nationwide. Under the leadership of President Dr. William Wilson, ORU is preparing students from all 50 states and 182 nations in the last 7 years to be whole leaders for the whole world.
