GCU rolled out its longest purple carpet during Welcome Week in August 2014 when a record 6,200 students moved onto campus. This year was a time of growth for the University, in terms of people, programs and buildings.

GCU Today Magazine 
Photos by Darryl Webb

There was no shortage of news at Grand Canyon University during the 2014-15 academic year. And it was no easy decision picking the Top 10 stories from the dozens that were produced by GCU Today. But those that emphasized community, growth and reputation quickly rose to the top. Here they are:

1. GCU revs economic engine in west Phoenix

The University announced a five-point plan to revitalize the neighborhood, continued expanding its campus along the Canyon Corridor, agreed to operate and began renovating Maryvale Golf Course, and opened a hotel to train students in hospitality management and employ local residents. A study credited GCU with an annual economic impact of $1.1 billion that generates 10,490 jobs, with wages approaching $500 million per year.

2. What’s in a name? A lot, when it’s Colangelo

Jerry Colangelo

GCU’s business school was renamed for Phoenix icon Jerry Colangelo, whose principles of servant leadership, ethics and entrepreneurship became as ingrained into campus life as he did in just a few short months. As part of the hospitality curriculum, the college also announced plans for golf course and tennis management programs.

3. It’s full STEM ahead as 8th college opens

Determined to fill high-tech employment gaps, GCU launched the College of Science, Engineering and Technology and introduced programs in computer science, information technology and engineering. The University also opened medical school slots for qualified CSET grads in a deal with Glendale’s Midwestern University and was lauded by the Obama administration for STEM Scholars, a partnership with high schools that awards college credits to worthy teens.

4. Building community through Habitat project

The University formed a unique partnership with Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona to involve neighborhood residents, students and staff in the renovation of hundreds of homes. At the first workday in January, 200 volunteers tore down fences, erected siding, painted and cleaned up. By the end of the semester, 25 homes had been improved with 10 more pending over the summer.

5. Record numbers sum up rise in enrollment

GCU welcomed a record 6,200 students into the residence halls during three days of Move-In in August, bringing total ground enrollment to nearly 11,000, up from 8,200 in 2013-14. The growth necessitated the University’s first winter commencement. The number of online students grew to about 55,000.

6. Return to nonprofit status considered

The administration formed an independent committee to investigate alternatives to its investment-based business model, including a return to nonprofit status, which the University held from 1949 to 2004. The decision would not impact GCU’s upward academic trajectory, online operations, partnerships, outreach or future plans to grow ground enrollment to 25,000, GCU executives said.

7. Explosive growth continues with building boom

To prepare for the growth in the number of students living on campus, the University built three new dorms, another classroom building, two more campus eateries and a second parking garage. More than 2,000 seats were added to GCU Arena, and construction began on four six-story residence halls, an engineering building and a third parking garage. (See pages 14-19 for details)

8. Men’s basketball program leaps even higher

The men’s basketball team debuted on the national stage when it played Kentucky at legendary Rupp Arena. The Lopes finished 17-15, were second in the Western Athletic Conference for the first time and received their second consecutive postseason tournament invitation. Moreover, the University highlighted and made financial contributions to a dozen local charities at home games.

9. Center for Worship Arts makes beautiful music

The University’s new Center for Worship Arts, which scored the music education equivalent of a Grammy Award by hiring MercyMe founder and lead singer Bart Millard as its director, got off to a strong start and crescendoed with “Showcase” events at the end of each semester. The center also released its first extended play, “Canyon Worship.” Students are training for careers in the industry, from worship leaders and lighting techs to songwriters and national recording artists.

10. No arguing with success of speech and debate team

In just its second year, GCU’s speech and debate team continued to shine, ranking No. 15 in the country after a strong showing at the prestigious Pi Kappa Delta national championships and winning a second straight championship in individual events at the national Christian colleges tournament in March.

The post A year to remember: GCU’s Top 10 stories of 2014-15 appeared first on GCU Today.

By GCU News Bureau

Colorful mortarboards have become a GCU commencement tradition. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

Thursday morning’s commencement, the first of six to be held this week for the Grand Canyon University’s Class of 2015 in the Arena, had all the usual pomp — grinning parents using cellphones and Canons, elaborately decorated mortarboards balanced on graduates’ heads and purple in every corner of the Arena, on flowers, stoles and drapes. (Click here to see a slideshow.)

But the 80-minute ceremony attended by 528 undergraduates in five colleges — Theology, Fine Arts and Production, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences and Science, Engineering and Technology — also was punctuated by poignant circumstances.

Student speakers Joy (left) and Claire Flatz charmed guests at the Class of 2015 commencement. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

For one, several graduates in the first CSET class adorned their mortarboards in ways unique to their career paths, such as outlines of bodies and crime scene tape.

And there was not one but two student speakers, identical twin sisters Joy and Claire Flatz, who earned degrees in theatre from the College of Fine Arts and Production. The duo, who are as close to America’s sweethearts as you can get, did a lovely tag-team bit about how the University’s campus has changed in four years. (Then: no lines, no Chick-fil-A and the worst parking spot was behind Hegel Hall next to the dumpsters. Now: waiting, but for several types of fast food, and the worst parking spot is at 27th Avenue — next to the dumpsters.)

Joy and Claire talked about their college family, made up of skilled performers in theatre, dance, music and film, and their Class of 2015 family, who are “dreamers, fighters, leaders, teachers, philosophers, artists, weirdos, friends.”

The Arena commencement crowd rose to its feet when Kathy and Eric Laneri, with (left) COFAP Dean Claude Pensis, came to the dais to accept the posthumous music degree on behalf of their daughter, Ashley, who died from injuries in a car accident in March. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

But the festivities also had a somber, distinguishing moment with the posthumous award of a degree in music to Ashley Kathleen Laneri, who died at age 22 on March 13, 2015, from injuries she sustained in a car accident.  The announced Arena audience of 3,806 came to its feet as Ashley’s parents, Kathy and Eric, accepted their daughter’s diploma from COFAP Dean Claude Pensis, then turned to the graduates and raised Ashley’s diploma and a framed photo of her to the heavens. Family members, including Ashley’s three siblings, as well as people who never met her, wiped away their tears.

—Janie Magruder

Moments of levity and wisdom

GCU President/CEO Brian Mueller welcomed the graduates to the morning ceremony and described them as an “extraordinary class of students, most of who came here four years ago when our resources and facilities were not what they are today. And they helped build this.”

Commencement speaker Karen Mills gave the Arena crowd much to smile about during this morning’s commencement. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

A buoyant GCU-style video delivered an inspirational look at the ways GCU helps its students find their purpose — in Christ, classrooms, collaborations, campus, Colangelo, courts, construction, classical guitar and, again, in Christ.

During the afternoon ceremony for graduates in the Colangelo College of Business and the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, Mueller told an announced crowd of 4,001 that GCU students are known in the community for more than just their academics and athletic talents.

“It’s how you live out the Christian mission of this institution,” said Mueller, referring to service projects at the Phoenix Dream Center, Phoenix Rescue Mission, Serrano Village and Habitat for Humanity, among others. “I hope you will leave here not just bringing your academics to your career but helping the whole city rise. Jesus came to make our lives abundant, but it’s up to us to make everybody’s lives abundant.”

At both ceremonies, Mueller introduced the commencement speaker, comedian Karen Mills, a 5-foot-2 former college basketball star and ovarian cancer survivor who tailored her remarks to the mostly youthful Class of 2015. She began with a congratulatory text on the giant Arena screen, which ended with MTFBWY — “May The Force Be With You” — and ended by using a selfie stick to take photos of her and them.

In between, Mills imparted some sage advice for a life well-lived:

Find the humor
Be true to your word
Do what you can — it all adds up.
Do the work — you never know when it will be your moment to shine.
Surround yourself with good people and let them do their jobs.

Before leaving the podium, Mills gazed at the screen again, where a video had extraordinary scenes in nature, galloping horses, towering redwoods and a soaring eagle, as well as global achievements such as man walking on the moon.

“Make a difference,” she told the graduates. “The world needs your contributions.”

                                                                                                                                                                   —Janie Magruder

Hometown teacher aims to change how local teens view education

It’s been three years since Xenia Gutierrez graduated from Trevor G. Browne High School in west Phoenix, and it didn’t take long for her to return.

Xenia Gutierrez grew up in west Phoenix and will return home to teach math at Trevor G. Browne High School.

The 21-year-old graduated early from GCU with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education with an emphasis in math because she took college credits while still in high school. And even before her degree was conferred, she earned a staff position at her hometown high school less than eight miles from the University. There was no need to job-hunt elsewhere, she said.

“I thought I could make a bigger impact there,” Gutierrez said of teaching at Trevor Browne. “Most of the students there need a role model. It’s been a dream of mine to go back to my community to do that.”

Gutierrez is the first in her family to attend and graduate from college. Her parents never finished secondary school in their native Mexico, so their daughter’s accomplishment will be well celebrated. After an incredibly busy year, Gutierrez said she’ll likely relax this summer and prepare for the five classrooms of ninth-grade algebra students she’ll begin teaching in August.

Not only did Gutierrez land a teaching job right out of college, she also earned a job in the middle of her student-teaching placement at North Pointe Preparatory, a Phoenix charter school. She’s been teaching full-time this semester, handling five algebra classes and a geometry class there to help fill a void.

Such opportunities are rare but fitting in cases where the student-teacher is capable of handling a full-time course load while being observed by the host school.

Now, those GCU-driven opportunities and others — such as her math practicum work at nearby Alhambra High — have given her the confidence and experience to walk confidently to the front of the classroom at Trevor Browne and get teens interested in math.

“I think if I can connect with them, I can get them to work hard and care about their education and future,” Gutierrez said.

After all, she’s a real-world example of how the mold can be broken.

—Michael Ferraresi

Havocs leader’s chaotic journey ends with GCU degree

Joshua Gee couldn’t have been blamed if he wanted to break into a celebratory dance Thursday after receiving his diploma for a bachelor’s in business management. He deserves it.

Joshua Gee (center) leads the Havocs student section during a Lopes men’s basketball game. (Photo courtesy of Joshua Gee)

Gee, 23, led the GCU Havocs student section at campus athletic events as a senior and is no stranger to busting a move. And after four years of school, more than 20 relocations in 19 years and a baptism last Sunday, a celebration is in order.

“I’ve been through so much I feel like I have to dance or do something on stage,” said Gee, who was born at a U.S. Air Force base in Bitburg, Germany.

After Germany, Gee moved between the U.S. and Beijing, China, three times. He lived in three states and attended five high schools in Colorado. His family moved back to Beijing, where Gee spent a year at a university before coming to GCU.

The consistent moving wasn’t the only chaotic part of his life. He characterizes his past as “troubled” with a string of poor decisions, and he chose GCU for selfish reasons. He “hit rock bottom” his junior year and decided to become a Christian.

Since his transformation, Gee has been one of the University’s most passionate and outspoken students. Whether he was leading cheers for the Havocs or organizing events on campus, he made sure to spread the University’s message of servant leadership. He hopes to become a GCU resident director after graduation.

Gee was among students asked to speak  at the senior basketball dinner earlier this month. As he began his speech, a “Gee” chant echoed throughout GCU Arena. He said it was one of the most humbling moments of his life.

He has a special affection for GCU for rescuing him from a past of questionable choices. Now, Gee wants to make an even bigger impact on the University as a graduate.

“I’ve never invested myself in a place before GCU,” he said. “I saw the Havocs as my opportunity to lead in a way Christ would. I hope that will carry on. and I want to do even more now that I’ve graduated.”

—Cooper Nelson

Life goes on (and on) for nursing grad

Before enrolling at GCU in 2013, Carol Weikle already was an educated woman with a good job. She had degrees from the University of Arizona in education and vocational rehabilitation counseling and evaluation and had developed a long and satisfying career helping people with physical, mental and emotional disabilities return to work.

Carol and Keith Weikle

And then, “life happened,” in a number of jarring ways that persuaded Weikle to sign up for the rigorous BSN program in the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions. First, it happened to her husband, Keith.

“I watched him nearly die more times than I could imagine,” the 54-year-old Glendale resident said of Keith’s nearly decade-long wait for a liver transplant after his Hepatitis C diagnosis in 2001. “I had nine years of researching ways to change the system, and I knew where I wanted to go.

“The frustration we had to get him a transplant affected not just my husband but me. I knew I could make a difference helping people, and I wanted to be a transplant nurse.”

Two years after his transplant surgery in 2010, Keith was diagnosed with early stage colon cancer. He was treated and recovered, but then it was Weikle’s turn. In June 2013, two months before starting the nursing program at GCU, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

During her treatment, which included surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, and recovery, she had to repeat only two classes. She credits her tenacity, the assistance of GCU’s faculty and disability office and her classmates.

“The students I have met along the way are some of the most supportive people I’ve ever met,” Weikle said. “They prayed for me, took notes for me and were there for me. This was a hiccup that interfered with my plan, but it wasn’t going to beat me.”

She most enjoyed clinical rotations in obstetrics, pediatrics, psychiatry and medical-surgical and wants to work in the field of transplantation, ultimately as a nurse transplant coordinator. She was proud to walk across the Arena dais Thursday to receive her diploma.

“I think I’ve earned this one,” Weikle said.

—Janie Magruder

MMA fighter has toughed it out in classroom, too

There were plenty of top-quality athletes graduating today, but it’s hard to imagine anyone tougher than Henry Cejudo.

Henry Cejudo

Not only is Cejudo, 28, undefeated through eight bouts as an Ultimate Fighting Championships featherweight (125 pounds), he also earned a degree in Christian studies. Despite his busy schedule, he still hopes to get a master’s degree and dreams of one day starting a nonprofit or becoming a school principal.

The way Cejudo’s fighting career is progressing, however, he’ll be leading the way and giving lessons in the sport for a while. He established himself as a world-class wrestler by winning four consecutive state high school championships — two at Maryvale High and two in Colorado, where he was in the resident freestyle program at the U.S. Olympic Training Center — and then taking the gold medal at 55 kilograms in the 2008 Olympic Games.

“MMA is an art,” he said. “It’s a science. It takes a certain discipline to do it. I know it’s a violent sport, but I see it as an example to teach lessons in life.

“It’s craft and technique. It’s being able to balance your body. It’s respect, honor and humility. When we shake hands and hug after a fight, we really mean it. And contrary to what people think, it’s a very injury-free sport.”

Cejudo said he wanted to attend GCU from the time he was 4 years old and living near campus. Every time he would pass by, “something was always tugging on me.”

“It’s an amazing school,” he said. “I couldn’t think of any other school I’d want to go to than GCU because of what it stands for.”

And Cejudo leaves no doubt where he stands on mixed martial arts. He’s nicknamed “The Messenger” and is ranked 10th at 125 pounds.

“It takes a certain kind of person to fight — there are no average Joes in there,” he said.

Least of all this guy.

—Rick Vacek

AzHOSA prez looks beneath the surface for her calling in medicine

It was a surgery that would get many bystanders turning to run out the door. But graduating pre-med senior Rita Bybee found it fascinating and couldn’t avert her eyes.

Rita Bybee served as president of GCU’s chapter of the AzHOSA health professions organization. (Courtesy of Rita Bybee)

During one operating room observation at her recent internship at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix through the prestigious Surgery Undergraduate Research Fluency program, Bybee, 21, was amazed to witness doctors removing most of the skin from a man’s lower face and neck.

The senior patient was suffering from cancer in his lower lip. Bybee said the latest report was that his health had improved after the surgery, which further inspired her to go to medical school and become a surgeon.

“I had shadowed plenty of physicians, but never in the operating room,” Bybee said of the SURF internship. “I saw such a variety of surgeries and types of physicians, and it’s not like there’s one certain type of physician that you have to be to be in the O.R. It’s like a team of people who care, and I could see myself doing that.”

As president of GCU’s chapter of the AzHOSA health care professions organization, Bybee helped hundreds of GCU students develop their career visions. But she also humbly credited GCU and pre-health advisers Helen Howard and Cherissa Medina for linking her into the career-development opportunities that health care students need to set themselves apart from the competition for medical school placements.

“If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have applied for that and got (the SURF internship),” said Bybee, who grew up in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and has hosted tours at the campus cadaver lab for current students from her old high school. When she was in high school, it was one of those tours that hooked her on GCU.

She added that as she investigates medical schools and goes through that rigorous application process this summer, she’ll also take a moment to smell the roses after a busy undergraduate run that included volunteering and serving as a campus Life Leader through the Office of Spiritual Life.

The “excellence that instructors expect” from GCU students, she said, prepared her for that process, too, and helped her understand the type of care she plans to provide for her own patients in the future.

—Michael Ferraresi

A higher calling: nursing and motherhood

Cammie Thornton and baby Phoebe before commencement Thursday.

Nursing school is hard, what with all that science and testing and selfless care for complete strangers. But imagine being pregnant and having a baby while getting your BSN.

That’s what at least two of the 461 traditional students who graduated with their nursing degrees Thursday did.

Olivia Saverino gave birth to Jude on July 28, 2014, just as she was getting ready to start her Level 3 courses. The pregnancy was easy. Balancing studying and Jude’s sleep “schedule,” not so much.

“He was so worth it, but my advice to others is to wait until you’re out of school,” Saverino said.

Cammie Thornton delivered baby Phoebe on April 17, 2014, right in the middle of finals. Four days later, Mama returned to campus to take her last test, then took the summer off school.

Mortarboards decorated by nursing students were nothing short of majestic.

“No! I would not have another baby in nursing school,” Thornton said emphatically. “You have to have a lot of time management and homework skills.”

Saverino, Thornton and three friends got together before commencement for a mortarboard-decorating party. Organized by new graduate Jenny Chapko, a GCU Today preferred customer, the party also included Haley Irby and Elizabeth Chavez. Some of the girls used films, among them “Monster Inc.” and “Up,” as a theme for their hats.

For her part, Chapko decided on a nursing career after volunteering at a hospital while she was a student at Corona del Sol High in Tempe.

And there is this: “I don’t get grossed out easily.”

—Janie Magruder

Hoops grad defying odds to pursue NBA dream

Jerome Garrison might have had a chip on his shoulder at times, but after four years of beating the odds, his shoulders should feel a little lighter.

Jerome Garrison, a key player in GCU’s first year in Division I, will play in Europe later this year with the hope of getting a tryout with an NBA team. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

After graduating from Mountain Pointe High in Phoenix, where he had earned all-state offensive and defensive honors his senior year, Garrison didn’t garner much college interest. He had accepted a scholarship offer from GCU, an NCAA Division II program at the time, in his junior year and settled in as a role player in his first two seasons at the University.

But when the Lopes moved up to Division I, the 6-foot-3 guard elevated his game, too, averaging 16.5 points per game and earning All-WAC Second Team and Defense Team honors as GCU took third place in the Western Athletic Conference.

Garrison’s production fell off his senior year as a result of a season-stifling foot injury. He averaged just 7.8 points per game and was counted out by most to have a shot at continuing his basketball career.

But as history has shown, Garrison, 22, keeps proving everyone wrong. He plans to play professionally in western Europe next fall and still hopes to eventually get a tryout for the NBA.

“My plan has always been to play in the NBA, but I’m excited to play overseas and I see it as part of my journey,” said Garrison, who graduated with a degree in exercise science Thursday, days after being named GCU’s top senior scholar-athlete in the “Lopey Awards.” “My journey is a testament to my life. I’m always trying to defy expectations.”

Garrison said his faith in God has empowered him to persevere. When his hoops career does end — and he doesn’t see that happening anytime soon — he plans to open a basketball academy for underprivileged children called “Rome’s Home” to provide them the opportunities he didn’t have.

“Not everyone gets the opportunity to succeed and play basketball growing up,” he said. “Whatever I can do to help kids reach their dreams, I want to do.”

—Cooper Nelson

Holy cow! Shin hasn’t backed down from challenges

When Suji Shin left Seoul, where she was born and raised, and moved to Wisconsin as a foreign exchange student, you might say she became an imported Cheesehead. You also might say the idea drew some lactose-intolerant reactions on the home front.

South Korea native Suji Shin served as president of the Associated Students of GCU.

“My parents thought it was the funniest thing,” she said. “They thought I was going to be milking cows every day. I didn’t touch a single cow, though.”

Seven years later, after persevering through the tough transition to Manitowoc, Wis., learning English, excelling at two different high schools and then moving on to GCU, where as a junior she was elected president of the Associated Students of GCU student government, she has graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

And she is incredulous about the whole thing.

“God has been graceful,” she said. “Who would have thought that I’d be here now — the things that have happened in my years here and the relationships that I’ve gotten to build, the people that I’ve met …”

The two most important ones are Nick and Kris Doneff, who took her into their home in Manitowoc, about an hour southeast of Green Bay, and later moved to Evergreen, Colo., to be closer to her while she was in college. “I know I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for them,” she said.

Being the ASGCU president wasn’t easy, either, but Shin persevered through that, too.

“I felt so inadequate,” she said. “I didn’t want to run. I felt like that wasn’t me and it wasn’t going to be possible. I didn’t know what it meant to be called to something, but as much as I didn’t want to do it, I just had to do it. I thought, ‘You know what? I’ll go for it and if I don’t get it, so be it. If I do get it, I’ll know it’s what I’m supposed to do.’”

While Shin is uncertain about where she’s supposed to do next, she’s pretty clear about her dream: She’d love to work in the United Nations, maybe even as an ambassador.

“Being a policymaker, there’s a big need for that in the world,” she said.

—Rick Vacek

Forensic science grad ready to take on the world

It’s been six years since her family emigrated from Europe, and Anamaria Lup felt instantly at home in Arizona and on campus at GCU.

Anamaria Lup does Lopes Up with a boy in Fiji during a GCU mission trip. (Photo courtesy of Anamaria Lup)

“It didn’t take too long for me to get used to it,” said Lup, whose family settled in the Valley after moving from their native Romania to Spain and navigating a visa lottery to get to the U.S.  “Now I don’t think I want to go back or leave Arizona.”

The 21-year-old is one of more than 20 students graduating from GCU’s forensic science program this week in the largest class since the program was established more than four years ago. She has seen it develop rapidly, and many of her peers are either going after jobs as forensic scientists or heading to graduate schools to pursue the degrees needed to become pathologists.

With her degree, Lup hopes to progress to a graduate or doctorate program to eventually work in a medical examiner’s office solving death investigations.

“I just think it’s very interesting how you can use all these different branches of science and apply them to the law, and to be able to link evidence to victims or different things or suspects,” she said. “I’ve always been interested in that field and felt it was a field where I was supposed to be.”

She’s getting married in June, so those applications to graduate programs will have to wait a bit.

And if planning a wedding and graduating from college isn’t enough, Lup is part of the final class of GCU Servant Scholars, a faith-based program that has provided scholarship assistance to students who demonstrate Christian leadership in the community.

Additionally, while volunteering at Phoenix nonprofits such as the Changing Lives Center and Mentor Kids USA, she was a tour guide at GCU’s cadaver lab, worked as a science tutor in the Learning Lounge and recently completed the prestigious Surgery Undergraduate Research Fluency internship program at Maricopa Medical Center.

—Michael Ferraresi

Graduation a family affair for two sisters and mom

Gerald Sandoz had looked forward to watching his daughters Gina and Jordan graduate from Grand Canyon University with his wife, Robyn, at his side. But Robyn wasn’t next to him Friday morning — because she was getting her diploma, too.

“A lot of tears were shed,” Gerald said.

Robyn Sandoz is flanked by her daughters Jordan (left) and Gina. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

Thanks to the ingenuity and flexibility of the GCU events staff, Robyn was able to push back her graduation from December to April so she could be in cap and gown alongside her daughters, and Jordan, who was supposed to walk with other Colangelo College of Business graduates Friday afternoon, was allowed to join them.

So there were Robyn and Jordan in the back row while Gina, a digital film major, walked with her fellow College of Fine Arts and Production grads. “I wanted to yell and scream,” Robyn said.

Robyn said they didn’t realize until last fall that all three of them might be able to attend the same commencement ceremony. It certainly wasn’t something they planned.

“It just kind of worked out that way,” Robyn said.

Robyn is a double major in sociology and psychology and said she might use it to go into counseling. She and Gerald are youth leaders. “I really like teenagers and would like to find ways to help them,” she said.

Jordan majored in business management and hopes to work for Disney. She said she is waiting to hear on an internship with the company.

And Gina? “I just want to make movies,” she said. “I’d love to work for BuzzFeed. And I definitely want to live in L.A.”

—Rick Vacek

Honing myriad skills behind the stage

At Alhambra High and Grand Canyon University, Berta Ordonez-Cortes had mentors who are the kind of theatre teacher she wants to be — oozing creativity, teaching useful skills and providing a multitude of opportunities.

Berta Ordonez-Cortes

“In theatre education, you need to know everything because they have you teach everything,” said Ordonez-Cortes, 22, who graduated Thursday with that degree from the College of Fine Arts and Production.

She came to GCU in 2010 armed with a full scholarship and the desire to help rebuild the theatre side of the University’s arts program, which had closed four years before. The college did an admirable job, and most performances of recent main stage productions in Ethington Theatre have been sold out.

“I loved how we were able to collaborate with our professors to build what it was before and to see the progress through the individual shows,” Ordonez-Cortes said.

Bill Symington, assistant dean of theatre and dance, said she used her entrepreneurial spirit to carve out a niche in COFAP. Among her creations, Symington said, was an audition process, rehearsal schedule and program system for the college’s ArtsJam! Series, and under her leadership, the number of annual performances quadrupled.

Ordonez-Cortes also was an assistant stage manager, worked on props, built sets and lit the stage.

Her creativity and hard work were never more evident than in December, when she directed GCU theatre students in performances of a fractured fairy tale at local elementary schools. It was Ordonez-Cortes’ idea to do the roadshow, and COFAP Dean Claude Pensis approved.

“Kids are born with these great imaginations, but as we grow up we think we have to be serious, and we tend to not think outside the box anymore,” said Ordonez-Cortes, who is student teaching this semester in the theatre department at Horizon High in Scottsdale. “Having theatre allows children to use their imaginations so that inner child never goes away.”

Symington saw that joy on the faces of students and school administrators at the fractured fairy tale performance.

“Berta, who worked tirelessly directing the production and with the cast and crew to create the set pieces, costumes and props, sat in the back, quietly taking it all in,” he said. “I think we’ve only seen the beginning of what she can do.”

—Janie Magruder

Life on the road prepared grad for degree

Jeremy Bridges spent 7½ years traveling the country in a 32-foot motor home, sharing one bathroom with his parents and six siblings (all separated by eight years). Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in digital film Thursday was a piece of cake by comparison.

Jeremy Bridges (right) was president of the Digital Film Production Club and competed in the 48 Hour Inter-School Film Challenge last weekend with classmate Jeffrey Dykhuizen. (Photo courtesy of Jeremy Bridges)

Bridges, 29, was born in Chicago and has lived in all 48 continental states. His family purchased a motor home when he was 11 and began a cross-country odyssey. His parents worked various jobs — from sugar beet farming in North Dakota to selling handmade crafts in Rhode Island — to fund their travels, and they homeschooled their kids.

The constant travelling and making new friends was tough as a teen, he said. But Bridges appreciates the memories he collected while on the road.

“Sometimes we stayed in a place for a couple weeks, sometimes a couple months to a year,” said Bridges, who has three associate degrees from the College of Southern Idaho. “We didn’t always like each other, but it brought us closer together.”

Traveling also encouraged him to pursue film. Arizona was the last state Bridges visited and GCU was the last university he considered, preferring its emphasis on storytelling. He hopes to become a Hollywood film director, and his fallback is to work as a news videographer. Bridges has some experience: He was a GCU Today student videographer this semester.

His travel extends outside the U.S. — he has been on three mission trips to Southeast Asia and will leave for a fourth next week. He loves to travel and said he wouldn’t mind returning to a life on the road.

“I would totally encourage people to do what I did,” Bridges said. “It’s a great conversation starter. Anytime someone says I’m from ‘here,’ I can say ‘I lived there, too.’”

—Cooper Nelson

GCU experience taught him to embrace the inner city

James Holdren had never driven outside California when he transferred to GCU in August 2013, and the first things he saw made him wonder if he soon might be doing a U-turn.

Western Arizona seemed so desolate. The neighborhood around the University was vastly different from what he had known at The Master’s College in Santa Clarita, Calif. And then the dust storms reminded him that he indeed was in the desert.

But now embraces the local culture so much, he dreams of one day serving in the toughest areas of Detroit, Chicago or Los Angeles.

“I just love the inner city now,” he said.

What changed? Holdren’s perspective, that’s what. He quickly learned to appreciate the way GCU reaches out to the community. He learned from being around students with different backgrounds and ideas. But, mainly, he learned a lot about himself.

Holdren had grown up in a Christian household but still didn’t feel committed to God. However, when a friend died in a beach accident his freshman year at The Master’s, it got Holdren thinking about his own mortality.

Still, he said it was a “slow process” before a residential adviser shared a Bible story with him in a way he hadn’t heard before, and he became a Christian in March 2013.

But the last two years have been anything but easy. Two of his grandparents died, Holdren lost another friend, this time to pneumonia, and he broke a rib in a Jet Ski accident last summer. The injury led to breathing issues that doctors feared might be a sign of lung cancer before he was cleared of that concern.

Through it all, his faith became even stronger. “I wouldn’t trade that suffering for anything,” he said.

And now that he has his degree in Christian studies with an emphasis in Biblical studies, he plans to enter Phoenix Seminary.

“I love studying Scripture and theology,” he said. “It’s my passion.”

There’s no thought about doing a U-turn any longer.

—Rick Vacek

Education grad takes skills, faith to the UK

While other GCU graduates shortly may be enjoying summer vacations, College of Education grad Clint Leavitt can’t wait to get to work.

Leavitt, 20, who graduated with degrees in English and Christian studies Thursday, leaves May 5 for a monthlong summer internship at the Wales Evangelical School of Theology (WEST) in Bridgend, Wales, in the United Kingdom. During a GCU mission trip last summer, he spent 10 days at WEST, mentoring children and organizing Christian community service events.

Leavitt turned down job opportunities locally to accept the internship, in which he will write website content and facilitate events in WEST’s marketing and communication departments. GCU graduate Janie Moore and junior Kaity Johnson also are interning at WEST.

Leavitt said it was the perfect opportunity to use his degrees and spirit to serve immediately after graduation.

“I felt God calling me there (last summer), and we learned that faith there is pretty dead,” said Leavitt, a Phoenix native. “College can be so one-minded. But I learned that it’s not about focusing on pleasing myself but answering what Jesus calls us to do.”

Last summer, Leavitt and GCU’s mission team in Wales organized a Western-themed night at WEST to encourage the local youth to attend church. Nearly 300 people attended the event, with many returning for church services each Sunday.

Leavitt understands that people might view the U.K. as a place where missionary work is not as needed. But he has seen that need and wants to make a difference in that area. He hopes to land a full-time position or study a master’s degree in divinity at WEST after completing his internship.

“There is need in Africa and India and other places, but God has always called me to serve in the U.K.,” he said. “I just want to be used. Whatever God wants me to do to make a difference, I’ll do.”

—Cooper Nelson

The post Commencement offers poignant tribute amid pomp appeared first on GCU Today.

By Darryl Webb
GCU News Bureau

The post Commencement Day 2: Non-traditional students appeared first on GCU Today.

Story by Janie Magruder
Photos by Tyler McDonald

In her communications courses at Grand Canyon University, alumna Lisa Cass learned one of the cardinal rules of being a journalist: There’s no question too dumb to ask.

Independence High newspaper editors (from left) Justin Leano, Julianna Cortez and Bianca Ramirez work on their final journalism projects in class.

It’s a lesson that came in handy this school year when Cass decided to find out whether her alma mater had any computers it no longer needed. GCU did, much to her delight and that of 100 beginning and advanced journalism students at Independence High in Glendale who sometimes spent more time waiting for their computers to boot and less time learning than Cass would have liked.

Her classroom now is outfitted with 35 Dell computers and monitors that hum right along. The equipment was donated by GCU in February and the final student project was saved Wednesday on the last day of school.

Junior Julianna Cortez, who has taken Cass’ journalism classes for three years, said the donation has improved the school work of her and 34 classmates, and benefited the writing, photography, editing and design of the school’s newspaper, Patriot Glory. Software, including InDesign, is giving students new experiences in creating a variety of pages.

“The computers run faster, so we’re able to get more things done and be more efficient in our work,” said Cortez, who will be the 2015-16 editor-in-chief of Patriot Glory. “They also have newer settings so we’re able to play around more to see what we can do design-wise.”

From student athlete to teacher

Teacher Lisa Cass (center), a GCU alumna, enjoys teaching her students at Independence High.

Cass, a west Phoenix native and the Independence High Class of 2001 valedictorian, played point guard for four years on GCU’s women’s basketball team. She earned a bachelor’s in communications in 2005 and was awarded the Roland L. Beck Award, given each year to two senior male and female athletes who demonstrate excellence in the classroom, Christian leadership and community service.

Cass’ coach, Kip Drown, suggested she continue her education at GCU by pursuing a teaching degree, and offered her a position as an assistant coach for that year. She did her student teaching in the English department at Independence, where her mom, Terry, a former elementary school teacher, now is a counselor. Cass graduated from GCU with a master’s in secondary education in 2006, and started teaching journalism at Independence later that fall.

“God totally opened the door, and everything just fell into place,” she said. “I love the students, and I feel connected to this community because I came from here. It’s important for me to see students seeing and seeking the potential that is right in front of them.”

For the past nine years, Cass has been teaching students skills such as good reporting, writing, editing and public speaking and creating and executing events and communications plans. She opens their eyes to still-

The Patriot Glory is produced by journalism students six times a year.

viable careers in communications and public relations. Independence High has three journalism courses, triple that of other high schools in the Glendale Union High School District, and Patriot Glory is published six times is a year.

During her time as a teacher, the Internet has greatly impacted print and electronic journalism, and Cass must annually update her curriculum to reflect those changes. She relies on her tech-savvy Gen Zers to teach her new tricks, too.

“The media is changing, and the kids are teaching me a lot about the technical side of journalism and social media,” Cass said. “For example, we do Twitter practice now — I never did that when I first started out.”

To fulfill a project on community relations, Cortez, junior Justin Leano and sophomore Bianca Ramirez were among students who recently visited seven area feeder schools, including Bicentennial North, to promote Freshman Patriot Pride Night in the fall. Ramirez, the Patriot Glory’s photo editor who wants to be a math teacher, said the experience helped boost her confidence in speaking to large groups of students.

“Journalism has helped me come out of my shell,” she said. “Being a teacher means you have 30 kids and being shy in front of them could be a weakness. We had practiced the material in class, and once I stood up in front of the Bicentennial kids, it was, ‘I got this.’”

Asking the right question

GCU IT answered when Cass called to inquire about computers that the University might no longer need and could be used in her journalism classroom. From left are Stephen Lemster, GCU IT end point operations manager, Ramirez, Cass, Leano, Cortez and Stephen Gee, IT director of technical services.

Cass, who also is the school’s Title I coordinator, believed her students could benefit from better tools to learn and do their jobs, so she approached GCU in November to ask about computers that no longer were being used. Dr. Tacy Ashby, senior vice president of GCU’s Strategic Educational Alliances, Joe Mildenhall, chief information officer,  and Stephen Gee, director of IT technical services, immediately responded. Independence High is a GCU Participant in Learning, Leading and Serving, a program that offers services and opportunities focused on attracting, retaining and maintaining quality professionals in education and educational leadership.

“We are working hard to serve and support those schools that are partners in our four alliances, and this is yet another good example,” Ashby said.

Over the past year, GCU has donated computers to the Phoenix Dream Center, Joy Christian School in Glendale, Western School of Science and Technology in Phoenix, the Scottsdale Unified School District and, now, Independence High, Gee said.

“We were happy to help Independence High’s journalism program with the donation of computers that the University no longer needed,” Gee said. “Any time we can help kids, whether they are elementary students learning to read or seniors in high school perfecting their research and writing skills, we are more than glad to assist. It’s part of the University’s five-point plan to support K-12 outreach and one way we give back to the community.”

Brian Mueller, GCU’s president and CEO, and Mildenhall have directed the IT department to donate equipment that no longer meets the University’s needs to other community-minded organizations that may be able to get several more years from it, Gee said.

“The computers were older models that no longer were compatible with our curriculum requirements and technology upgrades, but they still are fully functional,” Gee said.

This spring, the desktops were used by Independence students to produce a campaign that encouraged the campus to support Earth Day through recycling. And Cass’ students, including Cortez, who plans to attend GCU, are well on their way to being Google Doc experts, too.

“The skills they learn in journalism are skills they can use in whatever career they choose,” Cass said.

Contact Janie Magruder at 602-639-8018 or janie.magruder@gcu.edu.

The post The write thing: GCU gives computers to local school appeared first on GCU Today.

By Michael Ferraresi
GCU News Bureau

Carrying a binder of research under her arm, Naomi Primeau walked the grounds at Eastlake Park in Phoenix, gliding past the playground, shaded picnic tables and the site of a once-segregated community swimming pool.

On a recent searing-hot summer morning, as children of all backgrounds played in Eastlake’s air-conditioned community center, it seemed difficult to envision the park at Jefferson and 16th streets as off-limits to anyone. But there was a time when black residents of the neighborhood were not allowed to swim at the same time in the same pool as whites, and Eastlake’s pool was drained after it was used by people of color so whites could swim in fresh water.

GCU public history major Naomi Primeau stands at a memorial at Phoenix’s Eastlake Park, which she is helping the city’s Historic Preservation Office research for an application for the National Register of Historic Places. Eastlake once was a hub for the civil rights movement and the African-American community in Phoenix. (Photo by Michael Ferraresi)

Primeau, a junior in Grand Canyon University’s new public history program, is investigating Eastlake’s background through a summer internship with the Phoenix Historic Preservation Office. She is chronicling the park’s history to bolster the city’s application for a listing on the National Register of Historic Places, which is managed by the National Park Service.

Using research skills she learned in GCU’s history courses, Primeau has been digging through newspaper archives and books to uncover details about the park’s timeline. It began as a quaint green space for upper-class whites disembarking at a popular railway stop around the turn of the 20th century, and evolved into a site where black leader Booker T. Washington. He once spoke at the park before it became a hub for the civil-rights movement in Phoenix’s African-American community.

“It’s honestly an amazing experience,” said Primeau, a Phoenix native. “I feel like I’m learning so much more about my heritage and I’m more appreciative of my childhood in Arizona.”

Faculty in GCU’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences said internships such as Primeau’s will become more common as the public history program grows and prepares more students for careers  as preservationists, museum curators, community archivists and other roles where historical skills and knowledge are used for the greater good. GCU’s program is the only undergraduate public history program in Arizona, and one of few of its type available online in the U.S.

In addition to the public history degree, GCU also offers a bachelor’s degree in history, as well as a bachelor’s degree in history with an emphasis in history for secondary education. While some students want to teach social studies, others, like Primeau, see themselves as investigators who cull various sources to present the story of a place, person, group or event to a broader public audience.

Creating internship opportunities

Public history majors complete 120 hours of fieldwork, which helps them determine if archives, museums or preservation offices are the best fit.

Dr. David Dean

While Eastlake Park is already listed on the local register of historic places, Primeau has been digging deeper into the park’s original owner, its landscaping throughout the years and its place from 1889 to present in the lives of Phoenix residents, to make a case for national recognition.

“We’re not really using the Internet (for research), it’s more about physical properties,” she said. “What I’m trying to do is create a story, a narrative.”

Dr. David Dean, GCU’s lead faculty member for the history program, has forged relationships with various museums and government agencies to provide the student manpower needed to tackle assignments such as the Eastlake project.

Experiences like those, he said, will help set GCU students “look at community in a variety of ways,” and set themselves apart from others for entry-level jobs and graduate school applications.

“Our goal here is to give students the opportunity to experience what it’s like to be a historian, to see if they like it,” said Dean, a public historian whose work includes in-depth historical studies of the African-American and Hispanic communities in Phoenix.

“You’re going to have the opportunity to work in museums and archives and to participate in historic preservation,” he said. “I want students to be entrepreneurs about their own careers. I want them to knock on those doors themselves.”

Just one year into its own history, public history students have already landed internships with the Chandler Museum of History, the i.d.e.a. Museum in Mesa, the Arizona Historical Society, a public history consulting firm, and other organizations dedicated to keeping America’s past relevant for future generations.

John Adams discovery enhances internship

In his summer internship at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, GCU senior Francisco Lira has helped establish a new exhibit about the Soviet-era B-39 submarine and other exhibits. He also discovered a powerful, unrelated historical artifact.

GCU junior Francisco Lira discovered a 1798 document signed by President John Adams during his internship at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. (Courtesy of Francisco Lira)

While sorting through some evidence in the museum’s archive for a routine assignment, Lira stood atop a ladder and peered down into a box at what appeared to be the signature of U.S. President John Adams on a 1798 document. The presidential signature appeared authentic. He was stunned.

After checking with his professor, Dean, and his bosses at the museum, Lira learned that it was an official customs document signed by Adams and Secretary of State Timothy Pickering to grant safe passage to a merchant ship en route to ports in the Caribbean. The document likely was dropped off with a package of artifacts years ago and never properly catalogued at the museum, which focused on American and Pacific naval history.

It likely is authentic, but not rare. It was more like a form letter of its time, one of many of its type shared with customs houses of that era. Dean helped Lira determine that it was an artifact of the two-year Quasi-War with France, in which French warships targeted American merchant vessels for capture or destruction.

Still, stumbling upon an official Presidential document from the 18th century led Lira to believe he’d found his calling, especially in an industry where government budget cuts and museum staffing shortages may lead to artifacts such as this one to be misplaced in storage or lost to antiquity.

“Something like that is exciting to people who come in and bring it to the collection, but if you can’t find a place for it immediately, you have to shelve it and move on to the next thing,” said Lira, who will be president of GCU’s History Club this year.

The San Diego native said the John Adams experience helped him recognize that he wants to work in a museum — and uncover the stories behind historical artifacts.

“I think it’s finding connections between different artifacts and documents,” Lira said. “We learn so much in history class and textbooks, but to see some of those things and touch them with our hands, it’s really exciting to put the story together yourself.”

Reach Michael Ferraresi at 602-639-7030 or michael.ferraresi@gcu.edu.

The post Public history interns shed light on colorful past appeared first on GCU Today.

Thousands of fresh-faced freshmen are starting classes Aug. 24 at GCU, raising ground enrollment to about 16,000 students, the largest ever. (Photo illustration by Billie Worth)

Stories by Janie Magruder
Photos by Darryl Webb
GCU Today Magazine

They are tomorrow’s electrical engineers and computer wizards, entrepreneurs and innovators, worship leaders and teachers, medical professionals and lawyers, musicians and thespians.

They will help solve global challenges, spread the Gospel, invent the next great thing and make their loved ones’ hearts burst with pride and joy.

They are a smart bunch with an incoming GPA of greater than 3.5, and so young, too: One in five is under 18 years old. They primarily hail from the western U.S. – Arizona, California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii – and while some literally are neighborhood kids, others were born far away, in South Korea and Nigeria.

They are our hope for the future. They will do great things at home and abroad. Welcome, Class of 2019. We’ve been preparing for you.

____

Aven Ault, 17
Hometown: Fresno, Calif.
Major: Biomedical engineering

Aven Ault

From the moment the Ault family stopped by campus to visit a friend and hopped aboard the GCU welcome wagon (guided tour, purple T-shirts, free tickets to a men’s basketball game), they were sold.

“It was a whole cool adventure,” said Aven Ault, whose family rolled through Phoenix in their RV on the way home from a trip to Texas a couple of years ago and found themselves at a boisterous Arena event.

The thrill continues now for Ault, the Class of 2015 valedictorian at Clovis East High, where he also was the top player on the boys’ tennis team. And he’s recruited several friends from central California to GCU, including his roommate, Trevor McIntosh.

Phoenix’s heat might be an adjustment: Ault spent the summer at mile-high Hume Lake Christian Camp in California, leading devotions and recreation for hundreds of young campers. Serving the Lord always has been important to this son of missionary parents, who grew up in Spain making friends with the locals and becoming fluent in Spanish.
The GCU factor: The family loved campus so much that Ault’s stepmom, Colleen, applied for a job and was hired as a regional admissions representative in California.

____

Briana and Brian Norheim, 18
Hometown: Bermuda Dunes, Calif.
Majors: Nursing (Briana) and Biology (Brian)

Among the record six pairs of twins and 470 freshmen entering GCU’s Honors College this fall are Briana Norheim and her one-minute-younger brother, Brian. They have a yin and yang that is both fiercely competitive and sweetly protective.

Brian and Briana Norheim

The competition shows up mostly on the basketball court, where Briana and Brian have bounced around together since they were old enough to walk. Briana played on her brother’s team in middle school because there was no girls’ team, and both were multiyear captains of their respective teams at Desert Christian Academy near their home in Bermuda Dunes, Calif.

Both played piano and were in AP and honors classes during high school. Briana also packed in volleyball and cheer, while Brian was drawn to ministry in the academy’s elementary school.

They each describe themselves as hard working, but she is positive, energetic and persistent while he is more strong-willed and dedicated.

Her favorite Bible verse is Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” His is Romans 8:37-39: “… neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“We complement each other very well,” Briana said. “Whatever I’m weak in (math), he’s very strong in, and whatever I’m strong in (English and history), he’s not.”

Briana and Brian Norheim

Briana chose nursing but has not ruled out becoming a teacher because she wants to make a difference in people’s lives. Brian plans to become a doctor and has heard about the hands-on opportunities that pre-med students have in GCU’s cadaver labs and on medical mission trips around the world. He is interested in pursuing orthopedics in mission work, if that’s where God calls him.

The twins have been in the same classes at the same school all their lives, and when they began to think about college, Briana initially was open to being at a different place than her brother.

“One of the main reasons she wants me to go to the same college is to help her in math,” Brian joked. To which Briana replied, “God gave me a math tutor.”

And it’s not as if the twins won’t know anyone at GCU: one quarter of their 32-member graduating class is enrolled, too. Still, watching out for each other will be a priority.

“Briana is a strong woman of faith, and if I need her she’ll be there for me. She would drop whatever she’s doing,” he said. “I’m blessed to have a twin sister.”

The GCU factor: “Our parents are very secure in how the campus is and with how affordable it is, and I think GCU will provide more opportunities than other colleges could provide,” Brianna said. Added Brian, “I have a great opportunity to do well as I prepare for med school and become a doctor.”

____

Denisse Delos Santos, 18
Hometown: Phoenix
Major: Electrical engineering

Denisse Delos Santos

But for that one B, in Spanish, Denisse Delos Santos would have a 5.0 GPA. The Class of 2015 valedictorian at North High in Phoenix, who took four years of the boot camp equivalent of learning — International Baccalaureate — had to settle for a 4.92.

Delos Santos insisted she’s not that smart.

“I’m just really determined when it comes to work. It runs in my family,” she said. The tests, essays and homework at North were a grind, but she refused to be one-note. Choir, playing piano and guitar and drama were mixed in with U.S. history, pre-calc and physics.

Delos Santos, who was born in San Pablo, the Philippines, chose electrical engineering because her father, a teacher, is a “frustrated engineer” who couldn’t afford to follow his dreams. “I said, ‘OK, Dad, I’m going to finish your dream off for you.’”

The GCU factor: I’m really excited to be in the first class of engineers. We’re making history. We’re the first to be in the new building and classrooms, and whatever we do, the next class will have to follow us.”

____

Easton Barbour, 18
Hometown: Hershey, Pa.
Major: Christian studies

Easton Barbour

From a ready smile to the “I am Second” bracelet to his confident stride, Easton Barbour has the countenance of a young pastor.

“I’m hard-wired for the ministry, especially for fellowship and discipleship. I don’t have a passion for anything else,” he said.

When Barbour’s parents moved their family from North Carolina to Gilbert in 2011, it was a faith wakeup call. His new school, Basha High in Chandler, had more than 2,500 students, and Barbour felt a bit lost.

He joined the school soccer team and tackled the books, finishing with a 4.75 GPA and amassing more than 30 required college credits.

“I took AP classes so I wouldn’t have to take them later,” he said. “I wanted to focus on Christian studies.”

Barbour has taught children and teens at Mission Community Church and co-founded Basha’s chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He recently spent three weeks in Europe, a pack on his back and God on his heart and lips.

The GCU factor: “I wanted to stay local for college because I want to stay connected to my church and keep those relationships.”

____

Hope Tedrow, 18
Hometown: Gilbert, Ariz.
Major: Psychology

Hope Tedrow

“Well-rounded” comes to mind when thinking of Hope Tedrow:

• Voracious reader with early preferences, Clifford and Junie B. Jones, edged out by current favorites, Karen Kingsbury and Michael Crichton
• Singer who performed with a show choir in Hollywood
• Fluent Spanish speaker
• Visitor to the equator
• Co-valedictorian of the Gilbert High Class of 2015, with a GPA of 4.79

“I’m not a natural genius,” she said. “I’m pretty good at organizing my time to get my work done.”

The proof: She completed her freshman year of college, with 15 AP credits and one semester of dual enrollment, while in high school. Tedrow enters GCU with 35 college credits and a blank canvas on which to paint her future. She’s interested in how the mind works, maybe counseling or law.

Intramural volleyball and the Learning Lounge at GCU also have enlarged her sphere of interest.

The GCU factor: “My best friend since I was 6 goes there, and I like the smaller class sizes and the fact that there are tons of options — if I ever change my mind.”

____

Joey Bombaci, 18
Hometown: Phoenix
Major: Digital design

Joey Bombaci

Joey Bombaci grew up drawing anything with wheels or wings and playing ice hockey. When his parents suggested he pick art or sports, Bombaci hung up his skates and sharpened his pencils.

As a sophomore at Sandra Day O’Connor High in Phoenix, he was part of a team whose designs were among the top 50 in Vans Custom Culture, a national contest that inspires teenagers to embrace their creativity using the blank canvas of blank canvas shoes.

Bombaci pursued a job at a local Vans, not to perfect the art of selling apparel, but to learn the process of design. His creativity landed on the radar of Steve Van Doren, son of Vans co-founder Paul Van Doren, who sent Bombaci a pair of size 66 blank canvas high-tops to customize for display in the Cypress, Calif., corporate office. Bombaci has since personalized more than a dozen pairs of Vans for friends and is looking forward to exploring digital design at GCU.

The GCU factor: “I want to use my art to show a dark but creative world that there is light, and that light is God.”

____

May Carreon, 18
Hometown: Phoenix
Major: Business management

May Carreon

GCU has been a part of May Carreon’s life since grade school. She grew up eight blocks away, never missing a Fall Festival or Christmas party on campus and dreaming of being the first person in her family to go to college, in her very own community.

But money was tight, and Carreon realized during her senior year at Alhambra High that she was responsible for her future. Her math teacher directed her to the University’s Learning Lounge for pre-calculus tutoring, and Carreon sought its help in writing applications for college scholarships. She enrolled in GCU’s “Jump Start to Jobs,” coming to campus on Saturdays to build her resume and practice job interview skills. Carreon had never before held a job.

Her initiative succeeded: a full-ride scholarship from the Colangelo College of Business and a paid summer internship at Wells Fargo. Carreon has her sights on landing Jerry Colangelo as her mentor. Bank on it.

The GCU factor: “I consider it part of my family. I’ve known it since I was little. This is my second home.”

____

Kara Sutton, 18
Hometown: Charlotte, N.C.
Major: English for secondary education

Kara Sutton didn’t move to Phoenix in the most climate-friendly month — June — but she couldn’t be coming to GCU at a better time.

Kara Sutton

Sutton has plenty of speech and debate experience as a teacher of younger students and a participant in the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association. Members of GCU’s speech and debate team this spring won for the second consecutive year national titles in individual events at the National Christian College Forensics Invitational.

Sutton, who was homeschooled, doesn’t know if God will lead her to teach in a public or private high school or a university. But she’s certain she’s been called to share her Christian worldview through teaching.

“It may not be rewarding as far as pay goes, but the rewarding part for me was getting to see the students grow,” she said. “It’s a blessing to see students who at first dreaded giving speeches be so much more comfortable by the end.”

The GCU factor: Sutton wants to explore GCU’s global mission program. Her heart was captured by a February journey to China to minister in a nursery for babies abandoned because of their disabilities.

____

Rilynn Hansen, 18
Hometown: Grants Pass, Ore.
Major: Communications

Rilynn Hansen was a high school freshman in 2011 when she and her sister, Morgan, won first place in a national Future Business Leaders of America contest for their financial plan on a mock business. No other Oregon ninth grader had ever done that.

Rilynn Hansen

Hansen again wowed FBLA judges at the 2012 nationals, earning another blue ribbon for a real community service project. She and other students at Hidden Valley High launched the Josephine County Foundation in a region plagued by higher child poverty and unemployment rates and lower high school graduation and college achievement.

“We wanted to do something real. We saw our county struggling and we wanted to make a difference,” she said.

Hansen became proficient at grant writing and building relationships. The nonprofit began with community vision clinics, where 200 pairs of used glasses were handed out to low-income people.

Hansen’s newest FBLA national project was Youth Education Success, a partnership with a local television station that made 11 grants to area teachers. They purchased heart-rate monitors for PE classes and ceramic kilns for student artists and established a life-skills garden and dental clinic, among other services. The GCU factor: “Everyone seems so friendly, and the campus looks like a resort.”

Additional photography by Keith Alstrin and Karalyn Stairs

Contact Janie Magruder at 602-639-8018 or janie.magruder@gcu.edu.

The post Hello, my name is: GCU Class of 2019 appeared first on GCU Today.

The cover story in the latest edition of GCU Today Magazine introduces you to 10 new faces on campus who are shining representatives of this fall’s incoming freshmen class. Check out the students’ stellar academics, servant qualities and deep faith and watch a cool video about their first-year expectations. The September magazine also has full coverage of a beach get-together for new GCU students from Southern California as well as a story about the University’s new engineering degrees, a feature and video about its promising soccer program and an article about a unique collaboration between GCU and Arizona hospitals to train and employ new nursing graduates. Other content: a look at where GCU students spread the Gospel during summer mission trips, a story and video about new alumnus Zenon Castro, who is moving from school janitor to teacher thanks to GCU’s s online program and a profile of alumna/future doctor Erica Wadas, plus alumni class notes.

The post GCU Today Magazine welcomes Class of 2019 appeared first on GCU Today.

By Janie Magruder
GCU News Bureau

On the cusp of a new academic year, with ground enrollment at a record 16,000 students, including 8,500 living on campus, and with academic, residential and dining facilities going up in record time this summer, Grand Canyon University is on a tear.

GCU President/CEO Brian Mueller shared his excitement about the University’s “tremendous” development at Friday’s all-employee meeting. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

That was the message from President/CEO Brian Mueller to thousands of faculty and staff gathered Friday in GCU Arena for the annual all-employee meeting.

“The last six years have been tremendous,” Mueller said after a dozen University panelists representing the student body, enrollment, faculty, programs and community outreach presented recaps and forecasts of GCU’s rosy glow. “But that’s nothing compared to what will happen in the next six years.”

He emphasized the engagement of faculty and dedication of staff, giving a shout-out to student services advisers and enrollment counselors whose academic support of students “is one of the things that we do best.”

It was a “State of the University” address with this takeaway: Things are hot at GCU, toastier than the recent record-breaking temperatures across its Phoenix home.

Hot construction period with more to come

“Unbelievable changes” have taken place on the GCU landscape since school ended in April, Mueller said, including The Grove, four six-story residence halls that were built in eight months and 10 days; a STEM building for the new College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) with a state-of-the-art music studio for students in the Center for Worship Arts; a soccer stadium that is expected to open in October with 3,000 berm seats and 3,000 more to be built in a covered grandstand; Lopes Way, an indoor/outdoor dining area with nearly a dozen new eateries, and the Grand Canyon University Hotel at the 27th Avenue office complex.

But there’s more to come, he noted, from new intramural fields that could host employee teams (a suggestion met with crowd applause) and the GCU Golf Course at 59th Avenue and Indian School Road to a restaurant and conference center adjacent to GCU Hotel and a new student services building on the main campus.

Further down the road, Mueller said, there will be 100,000 online students, 30,000 traditional students, a doubling of academic programs, a household-name athletics program, and more than 4,500 employees working in a thriving middle-class neighborhood around GCU.

Microphone in hand, Mueller then turned to his panelists to help communicate the University’s impressive progress report. Topics included:

Mental health of students: Cody Dumas, president of Associated Students of GCU, said the student group plans to break the stigma of mental health issues with an awareness week in January and the launch of peer-to-peer counseling program.

Faculty engagement: Provost Dr. Hank Radda said faculty are more enthusiastic than ever about their teaching responsibilities, advising student clubs, attending events and mentoring students. “They are completely jazzed about the quality of our students, the diversity of thinking, the energy here…” Radda said.

STEM integration: GCU’s science, technology, engineering and math curriculum was built with workforce needs in mind, based on the University’s comprehensive collaborations with industry and educators, Radda said. Michael Sheller, CSET associate dean, called the programs “extremely hands-on, extremely real-world,” with most classroom time spent on building and analysis.

Worship Arts: With their first extended play released in April, students are continuing to write and produce songs about the reconciliation, redemption and peace that come through Jesus, said John Fredericks, the center’s coordinator.

Theatre and music: The University’s theatre program will perform Shakespeare, two comedies and a beloved children’s musical in Ethington Theatre this school year, said College of Fine Arts and Production Dean Claude Pensis. Students in the Music Department will perform for the first time Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem” at Phoenix Symphony Hall.

Passion for the job: Several staff members revealed their commitment to GCU, notably Emily Montoya, an admissions manager for the West Valley who listed hers this way: passion for and relationship to God, then passion for the community, youth and education. Her team enrolled 540 students this fall, many of them the first in their families to attend college and with an average incoming GPA of 3.7.

Dr. Deb Wade, GCU’s new vice president of psychological and counseling services who recently left behind in Dallas her longtime home and career, said coming to GCU was a “dream opportunity.” Wade noted, “That it was Christ-centered made it absolutely a diamond.”

Public safety: Commander Kevin Robinson of the Phoenix Police Department noted that criminal activity has dropped — 16.2 percent in violent crimes and 16.9 percent in property crimes — in the quadrant surrounding GCU, partly because of the University’s public-safety initiative with the city.

Heart for the community: GCU’s unique partnership with Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona to rebuild up to 700 homes in the University’s neighborhood has been impressive since its January launch. Habitat President and CEO Roger Schwierjohn said nearly 250 GCU student volunteers have contributed 1,900 hours to complete 56 repairs and assist 27 families. “They (residents) are seeing that GCU is not trying to run them out of their homes, and they are now proud to be part of this neighborhood,” Schwierjohn said.

GCU employees can use the Donate to Elevate program to designate part of their state taxes to Habitat to help fund future projects. Randy Bellah, GCU’s director of academic alliances support, said in three years more than $1.3 million has been pledged by employees. The program costs nothing and does not impact an employee’s take-home pay. It merely reroutes through the payroll process state tax dollars to Habitat, or to GCU’s private and public school participants, if employees so choose.

The Learning Lounge: GCU’s unique afterschool tutoring program for students at Alhambra High, down the street from the main campus, has helped raise the state test scores and grades of the students, many of them first-generation graduates. Dr. Joe Veres, director of K-12 Outreach Programs, credited the program’s success in part to the passion and dedication of the Lounge’s tutors, who are GCU students.

Athletics: GCU’s name will be mentioned in the same sentences with Notre Dame, Texas, the University of Southern California and Alabama, said Mike Vaught, vice president of athletics. “You can thank the leadership of this University for that,” Vaught told the assembly.

For his part, Mueller thanked the group for its hard work at a “transformational institution” and encouraged employees to view their positions at GCU as careers, not merely jobs, and the University as a home for them and their children. Mueller said he never tires of hearing good things about the Lopes family: “I hear you are kind, compassionate, welcoming, generous. That’s what makes this what it is.”

Contact Janie Magruder at 602-639-8018 or janie.magruder@gcu.edu.

The post Mueller showcases GCU’s stunning transformation appeared first on GCU Today.

Story by Janie Magruder
Photos by Darryl Webb
GCU News Bureau

GCU has rolled out new tools to help students set academic goals, receive help with their school work and plan their future careers.

Grand Canyon University students can’t yet see the finish line of the 2015-16 academic year — after all, it’s only the fourth day of classes. But GCU’s 16,000 traditional students, including 7,000 newcomers, have never had more tools to help them set a successful college pace and sprint across at the end.

The University has expanded a variety of learning components and measurements that, among other functions, provide timelines and reminders to students about courses, volunteer work, internships, spirituality and networking experiences to best prepare them for the future.

From Honors College upperclassmen who warmed up incoming freshmen at summer orientation sessions to college deans who are on a whirlwind of student meet-and-greets during the first weeks of school, everyone is on board, said Dr. Antoinette Farmer, vice president of institutional effectiveness.

“We have introduced intentional and integrated advising, which coordinates program, career, academic support and spiritual components necessary for students to be successful from Day 1,” she said. “It promotes consistent conversation among students, faculty, student services advisers, Career Services and Spiritual Life. We are helping students through the entire process of finding their purpose, which begins and ends with purposeful planning.”

First Year Center opening soon

Through the First Year Experience, GCU freshmen receive a roadmap for navigating campus life, from dining and discounts to technical support and public safety. By the middle of September, the University plans to open its First Year Center in Juniper Hall, a new freshmen residence in The Grove. Juniper is the home of about 250 of GCU’s 750 Honors College students.

The First Year Center is scheduled to open in Juniper Hall in September.

It will be a one-stop shop for freshmen who need academic, psychiatric and spiritual assistance of any kind. Peer tutoring and other support will be available at all times of the day and night, weekends, too, and faculty will drop by periodically to greet and work with their students.

“Our message is, ‘Here’s a hand — just grab it,’” Farmer said.

The First-Year Center will be a unique place where academics and social activities come together. Reyna Mosely, an Honors College senior, said she wishes such a place had existed when she was new to campus.

“If students are confused about anything, we will be the middle man for them and all the resources GCU has, and we’ll be able to point them in the right direction,” said Mosely, a biology major with an emphasis in pre-Physician Assistant who works on the First Year Experience team.

“It’s all about making these connections, and I feel really blessed to help these students make it through their own journey,” she said.

Faculty are looking forward to being part of the center, too, said Jessi Farmer, an assistant communication professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS).

“It will be exciting to see how we bring together this collaborative learning environment with traditional academic approaches,” she said.

Planning down to a science

Dr. Antoinette Farmer

Antoinette Farmer is enthused about the new purpose-planning process, by which students are given specific academic support that fits their courses, majors and career goals.

“Students may know what they want to do, but they may not know how to get there, and that can be overwhelming,” she said.

The plan directs freshmen to the GCU Learning Lounge or another academic excellence center on campus, where they may obtain homework help and sign up for content clinics. It also provides year-by-year checkpoints and recommendations on the academic, career and spiritual plans of all students, no matter their year in school.

“The intent is to help make sure that students, from their freshman year to their senior year, are taking advantage of all the resources at GCU,” said Jessi Farmer, who, with psychology professor Laura Terry, developed the purpose plan for CHSS.

A sampling from each year’s plan:

• Freshmen: Review your program of study and four-year course walk, set a target GPA goal and a plan to achieve it, join a learning community in your college to connect with peers sharing common academic goals and interests, note your professors’ office hours, review your class schedule, sign up for a content clinic to get help for a challenging course, find a job on campus, attend an interview workshop with Career Services and create an online career-assessment tool.
• Sophomores: Consider a leadership or mentoring role at GCU, discuss options for a minor or double major with your adviser, research graduate schools, maintain your target GPA, review your career-assessment tools, attend a guest speaker event to learn from an established professional in your field and consider joining a professional organization.
• Juniors: Finalize your graduation path with your adviser, register and take graduate school admissions tests if needed, create or update your resume and letters of recommendation, seek internship opportunities and attend Career Week sessions on etiquette, resume review, mock interviews and jobs/internships.
• Seniors: Explore professional research circles and opportunities, stay involved in your college’s learning communities, finalize your career plan with your adviser, complete graduation application and connect with alumni relations to start building lifetime connections.

In each year, joining a faith community, church, Bible study or small group is emphasized, too.

Tracking academic progress

Because math, which often is surrounded by phobias, is among the subjects that can make or break a student’s college experience or career path, Antoinette Farmer said, GCU has developed variables that enable the University to determine the probability of success among students in each section of math offered. The tools pinpoint the concepts the student is struggling with and the point in the semester — to the week — that his or her comprehension is falling off. The data has been made available to faculty and used as an early alert system to obtain help for the student, she said.

The tools pinpoint the concepts that the student is struggling with and the point in the semester — to the week — that his or her comprehension is falling off.

“At that point, we can add learning advocates (leads or peer tutors) or instructional aids, tools and other assistance to help them be more successful,” she said. “Young people can get other students excited about these tools in ways that the rest of us may not be able to.”

The new learning tools are designed to enhance, not replace, faculty attention and expertise, Jessi Farmer said. For example, math and science tutors may be floaters in those classes to provide extra help.

“Even in small classes, it’s hard to get to everyone, and what’s great is that they are on campus when we can’t be, and they are in places on campus where we aren’t, too,” she said.

Faculty also will give prompts in the classroom about guest speakers and career-enhancing events and remind students to periodically check their progress plans, she said.

“This helps us helps students transfer from backpack to briefcase,” she added.

Antoinette Farmer credited part of student success to the continued support of the faculty and to Bret Miller, academic affairs research and analytics program manager. Miller worked with Dr. Joe Veres, director of K-12 Outreach Programs, and the colleges to build important tools for their faculty.

“These include a Math and English Faculty Dash, which provides an indication of student experience and preparedness within these respective areas, and Early Alert Trending for all courses, which provides a historical view of the number and type of early alerts,” she said. “These let faculty know where, when and how students normally struggle within the respective courses.”

Contact Janie Magruder at (602) 639-8018 or janie.magruder@gcu.edu.

The post ‘Backpack to briefcase’ strategies help students stay on track for success appeared first on GCU Today.

By Rick Vacek
GCU News Bureau

As the working world keeps changing, so do internships. What once was a way to just test the water is now an opportunity to jump in with both feet and make a really big splash.

Marquis Scott, GCU’s director of internships, helps students find opportunities. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

More and more students at Grand Canyon University are taking advantage of those opportunities. The number of GCU students who have had internships has grown from 20 in 2012-13 to more than 300 in 2014-15, not including students in the College of Education and College of Nursing and Health Care Professions who must do practicums and internships for their degrees.

But the strength isn’t just in the numbers. It’s in the sum of the internship parts.

“Internships used to be compartmentalized into specific skills,” said Marquis Scott, GCU’s director of internships. “Now interns can help someone launch a business. The opportunities are unlimited. They even can suggest ideas.”

Interviews with six recent interns from GCU uncovered six tales of eyes opened and minds expanded. Count this half-dozen among the students making waves:

Janel Davis

A wealth of good experience

Janel Davis was an intern for nearly a year at Advisor Growth Strategies, a Phoenix wealth-management firm. One of the senior accounting major’s professors in the Colangelo College of Business, Dr. Ernie Scarbrough, recommended her, and before long she was learning about a whole new world in high finance.

“It never was on my radar before, but I would definitely consider it now,” she said. “It has been really cool to see the different factors that go into what a company’s worth and the different paths I can take.”

John Furey, the company’s principal and founder, said having Davis on his team has been “fantastic.”

“She’s mature beyond her years,” he said. “She’s driven, hard-working, serious and very grounded. We’ve had some interns who have gone on to bigger things, and I think she’s going to be a very effective young professional wherever she goes. We’d love to have her back.”

Davis transferred to GCU after her sophomore year at Glendale Community College and is living on campus, in North Rim Apartments, for the first time. She also is a student worker in the GCU Accounting Department.

“I want to see which I enjoy better and which I’m better at,” she said.

But no matter what direction her career goes, Davis is at peace with it.

“First and foremost, I am a Christian, saved by grace in high school, and just trying to live my life to glorify God and serve Him in any way I can,” said Davis, who is a high school leader and has taught Sunday school kindergarten at her church. “I really have a heart to serve and to love all people. That is who I am. But none of this has happened because of me; it all has been Him.”

Kelsey Dean

Getting to perform on a big stage

Kelsey Dean was searching for an internship when she came across one that resonated: a chance to work in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.

With help from Scott, Dean was hired to work on the special events team in the center’s department that provides opportunities for people with disabilities to learn more about the arts through performances and conferences.

The highlight was a monthlong celebration commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 40th anniversary of the founding of the department where she interned.

“I’ve had the most amazing experience,” Dean said. “I’d recommend it to anyone who applies for it.”

Best of all, the senior marketing major got valuable hands-on experience that was anything but trivial.

“It wasn’t a situation where you just get coffee and file things,” she said. “I worked with the Secretary of Education (Arne Duncan) and the Surgeon General (Dr. Vivek Murthy). I got so much experience that I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else.”

Amber Moldrem

Learning what goes on backstage

Seniors Amber Moldrem and Melissa Kamel both have designs on behind-the-scenes jobs in the theatre. Their internships have played an important role in their development.

Moldrem works in the prop and costume shops at Childsplay, a professional children’s theatre in Tempe. That experience has been excellent preparation for her next big assignment: scenic and properties designer for “Scapin,” which GCU’s College of Fine Arts and Production will present Oct. 9-11 and 16-18 at Ethington Theatre.

“It’s a professional theatre for children — adults acting as kids,” Moldrem said. “It was educational to see how good they are at their craft.”

Melissa Kamel

Kamel has been helping with costume design at Brelby Theatre Company in Glendale since her sophomore year. This summer, she was part of the production crew for the play “Beyond Musketeers: Utopia Lost.”

“I saw an ad on Facebook and went with two friends. We thought it would just be fun, but then I got to be in the show and kind of never left,” she said.

Both theatre majors have minor acting roles in “As You Like It,” COFAP’s season opener this weekend at Ethington — Kamel as Audrey and Moldrem in the ensemble.

Location, location, location

Josh Kennedy found an internship right up his alley right down the street from GCU. Kelly Pollard found one in her hometown of Fort Collins, Colo.

Josh Kennedy

A junior majoring in biology with an emphasis in physical therapy, Kennedy worked this summer at Spooner Physical Therapy at 15th Avenue and Camelback Road in Phoenix. He started out as a technician but was able to learn all types of exercises after a few weeks.

Kennedy discovered he had an interest in physical therapy when he sprained his left ankle twice and had to go through it himself.

“I loved science already and this was like, ‘Oh, wow,’” he said. “And I really like helping people.”

Kelly Pollard

Pollard, a sophomore majoring in communications with minors in digital film and worship arts, worked for iHeartMedia’s radio station (97.9 FM) that serves Fort Collins and nearby Loveland and Longmont, north of Denver. She sat in on live shows, advertising recording sessions, promotional meetings and concert warmups.

“I got to tag along and see what it would be like to work in the radio industry,” she said. “I’m not sure if radio is what I want to go into, but if I went into radio it would be on air — I love music.”

Self-starters reach the finish line first

All six students told similar stories of how they got their internships: They took the initiative to search out something they wanted to do and then reached out.

“Students need to realize that there are a lot of people here who can help them with internships,” Scott said. “We have relationships with alumni, and professors and staff members have ideas and connections, too.

“Sometimes students think that if it hasn’t jumped out at them on a billboard, it doesn’t exist. That’s simply not true.”

The water’s great. They just need to jump in.

Contact Rick Vacek at 602-639-8203 or rick.vacek@gcu.edu.

The post Internships don’t just skim the surface anymore appeared first on GCU Today.

By Laurie Merrill
GCU News Bureau

It was nearly time for class Tuesday at the Phoenix Dream Center.

Rebecca Richey, an assistant professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Grand Canyon University, and Carolyn Sadberry, a GCU Professional Counseling Department student, stood ready to present a lesson on organization strategies.

The class, “Finders-keepers, strategies to organize your life,” is part of a pilot program the department launched this fall called the Volunteer Clinic. Every Tuesday for eight weeks, faculty members and students teach a different skill-building session to a group of shelter residents, women who survived the sex-traffic trade.

The goal is to supply life tools to the victims while providing work experience for counseling students, said Kathy Britton, manager of the counseling program.

Faculty volunteers in the Volunteer Clinic, part of GCU’s Professional Counseling Department, include, from left, Rebecca Richey, Kendra Stewart, Marcie Burger and Kathy Britton, counseling program manager.

The class was the third in the series. The others are: “Those pesky beliefs,” ‘‘My body myself,’’ ‘‘Food for the soul,’’ ‘‘Do they like me,’’ ‘‘You don’t deserve it,’’ ‘‘Long-term damage” and “I love me.”

The pilot program will be followed with a second eight-week program starting next month with eight faculty and students volunteering their time, Britton said.

“It has been just a whirlwind,” she said. “I’m into signs from the universe, and this is definitely the universe talking.”

The clinic was prompted, in part, by the idea that with its abundant counseling and instructional resources, GCU could make a difference in the community. The University has a longstanding tradition of supporting the Dream Center.

Human trafficking and sexual exploitation have ensnared more than 27 million victims around the world, according to the Dream Center. The average age of sex-traffic victims is between 12 and 14.

“Forced into a life of drugs, prostitution and abuse, these young girls are left traumatized by their pimps with no hope of escape,” the Dream Center says on its website.

Richey and GCU student Carolyn Sadberry have found the work at the Dream Center to be rewarding.

Britton put out a call for volunteers from the counseling department and the student counseling and psychology clubs. The response was swift and heart-felt, she said.

“We call the group, the ‘Mariposa Group,’ the Spanish word for butterflies,” said Britton, referring to the women attending the classes. “They are trying to metamorphosize into a new life.”

Tools for change

Some of the women who entered the classroom Sept. 8 were pregnant. Others held newborns. There were those who smiled and chatted and those who gazed expectantly at Richey and Sadberry. One thing they  have in common: All had been sex-trade victims who escaped and found shelter at the Dream Center.

A young woman in a pink dress and matching headband said she likes the classes and relates to the name of the group. GCU Today is protecting the identities of Mariposa Group members.

“I’m fascinated by the word, ‘metamorphosis’ and what it means in a young woman’s life,” she said. “I’m a little late (to embrace change), but I’m glad I’m here now.”

“This class is about both organizing your life and your belongings,” Sadberry said.

One key takeaway is that organized people have more energy to perform other tasks. Searching for items or forgetting dates of events can cause stress, while knowing where things are and when things are happening helps you stay calm, Richey told the group.

“It helps me to do less, but accomplish more,” said a woman wearing a gray T-shirt. “Staying organized leaves me open to God.”

Literature handed out to the class suggests keeping to-do lists, having a place for all your things, making backups of important documents, labeling and color coding belongings and setting aside time for organization.

“Cleanliness is next to Godliness,” the woman in pink said. “Being organized means I’m prepared for anything that comes my way. It lets me be available for God’s will.”

Clearing the clutter to let God in was another theme in the class. A woman whose hair was swept into a high bun said that her mind was filled with disorganization before she turned it over to Jesus.

She got her life back

Using a pseudonym and speaking on condition of anonymity, “Marie” talked after class about her life before the Dream Center. The 21-year-old knows she is one of the lucky ones — she got free in April — and has peace and renewed faith at the Dream Center.

Five months ago, Marie was a sex slave in a locked Cave Creek apartment. Her first memories of abuse are from early childhood. Later, when she was 17, working two retail jobs and living with her boyfriend, Marie learned she was pregnant. Wanting a better life for her baby, she set up a formal adoption and kept the pregnancy a secret.

“No one knew,” she said. “I went through the whole thing by myself.”

Marie gave birth to a boy, put him up for adoption as planned and went back to work. By the end of the week, however, she had collapsed with eclampsia, a pregnancy-related, seizure-inducing disease.

“I woke up in the hospital four days later,” Marie said. Her mother, brother and boyfriend were at her bedside.

Her boyfriend was devastated by the adoption.

“He begged and begged me,” Marie said. “I got my son back because he begged me.”

For months she felt sick, couldn’t work and went through her savings. She and her boyfriend ended their relationship but decided to remain as roommates to care of their son. Marie needed to work and when she was approached working for an adult webcam company, she took the position, and began dating the boss. But that relationship soon soured, and Marie found herself trapped in their apartment.

God answered her prayers

Marie was depressed, in a fog, emotionally manipulated and exhausted. For two years, she was his captive.

“Finally, broken and battered, I prayed to God for a week straight. I said, ‘God, can you please get me out of this?’’’ she recalled.

She was so broken that she would obey his commands to stay in the car, or when out in public to look down. But one day, when he went inside a store by himself, Marie fled.

“I took off on foot. I used a man’s phone to call my mom. My mom called someone to pick me up,” said Marie, who was taken to the Dream Center, where her mother is residing.

Marie is working through the process to get permission to visit her son, now 3, and she is enrolling at GCU next semester. She feels hopeful, filled with God’s grace.

“I feel complete now,” Marie said. “I have gotten my life back.”

Contact Laurie Merrill at (602) 639-6511 or laurie.merrill@gcu.edu.

The post GCU volunteers helping sex-trade victims reach their dreams appeared first on GCU Today.

By Laurie Merrill
GCU News Bureau

Dr. Sherman Elliott

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences  (CHSS) at Grand Canyon University will add eight more graduate-level psychology and counseling programs to its expanding catalog this winter in subject areas including trauma therapy, the interaction between humans and technology, and the study of aging.

The new offerings include five Master of Science and graduate certificate programs in Psychology and three Master of Science and graduate certificate programs in Professional Counseling, said Dr. Nóe Vargas, CHSS assistant dean. They will begin in December and January. More information is available by calling (602) 639-7500.

Dr. Noé Vargas

The programs reflect a rising demand in the workplace for professionals to address an evolving landscape of needs ranging from the aging of society to the rise in use of technology.

CHSS also is designing other new programs, including a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Health Science, a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with emphases in criminal justice and sports psychology, and a Master of Science in Mental Health with various emphases, that may be rolled out next year.

Vargas and a group of CHSS instructors met Thursday to discuss the new programs and the growing workforce demand for psychologists and counselors.

“Careers in psychology are thriving as workplaces are realizing that psychological interventions are central to their overall functioning and, essentially, their profit margin,” said Dr. Elizabeth Valenti, a psychology instructor. “Human emotion, behavior and thought drive every organization.”

Increasingly, technology companies, government agencies, hospitals, jails, the judicial system, the military and other organizations are seeking therapists, said Dr. Sherman Elliott, CHSS dean.

“There’s a huge demand across the country as more and more people are interested in careers in these areas,’’ Elliott said.

Dr. Julia Langdal

For example, the graduate certificate in GeroPsychology is a response to a call for more professional help dealing with aging baby boomers, said Dr. Julia Langdal, a psychology instructor. Learning topics include helping aging adults cope with anxiety, depression and physical debilities in addition to dementia and loss of cognitive ability.

“Not only are older adults in need of psychological intervention, they’re becoming more receptive to mental health services, which lends more jobs for geropsychologists,” Valenti said.

Professionals also are needed to help family members handle the change in their aging loved ones, said instructor Dr. Melanie Bierenbaum, a counseling professor who specializes in children, adolescents and families.

“We need people who can help with the transition to the loss of independence, such as losing the ability to drive,” Bierenbaum said.

Another big problem is a rising prescription drug addiction among the elderly, said instructor Denise Krupp. Additionally, one of the highest rates of suicide in Arizona is among white men over the age of 65, Krupp said.

Two new programs that will specialize in studying trauma stem from a rising demand to treat veterans, immigrants, refugees, sexual assault and childhood abuse victims, among others.

Many veterans are afflicted with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and, therefore, are more susceptible to suicide, Krupp said. Statistics she has compiled indicate that, in 2013, “the United States Department of Veterans Affairs released a study … which showed that roughly 22 veterans were committing suicide per day, or one every 65 minutes.”

The graduate certificate in Human Factors is the merging of psychology and engineering, focusing on interactions among humans and machines. By focusing on such factors as human-computer interaction and product design,  professionals in this area can assist in making machinery and technology more user friendly.

The military uses this expertise to make military vehicles and other systems safer by understanding how soldiers use them and what mistakes could occur, said Dr. Laura Chesniak-Phipps, an instructor.

“It helps make technology more intuitive,” she said.

The new programs are:

• Post-master in Trauma certificate, designed for professionals who already have master’s degrees in counseling and other clinical fields, offers students an exhaustive study of human behavior and trauma-informed care.

• Post-master in Marriage and Family Therapy certificate, a program that provides skills in communication issues, the parent-child relationship, family system dynamics, couples’ issues and more

• Post-master in Childhood and Adolescence Disorders certificate, providing skills and knowledge in developmental issues, child-parent-related issues, school and family life, mental health issues and more

• Graduate certificate in Forensic Psychology, designed for those who desire promotion and/or continued academic exposure in the field of psychology. Students undertake an in-depth analysis of crime and society’s responses to it.

• Graduate certificate in Geropsychology, a specialized field focusing on psychological and neurological aspects of aging

• Graduate certificate in Health Psychology, which focuses on psychological, biological and social factors influencing health and illness, examines the link between the body and mind and more.

• Graduate certificate in Human Factors is the merging of the fields of psychology and engineering, a scientific discipline concerned with understanding interactions among humans and other elements of a system, including computers, and more.

• Graduate certificate in Life Coaching, an emerging field that integrates areas of sociology, psychology and counseling. Topics include advanced rapport-building and communication strategies, identifying maladaptive cognitions and more.

• Master of Science in Professional Counseling with an Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy, providing students with knowledge and skills to identify, assess and address marriage and family-related issues

• Master of Science in Professional Counseling with an Emphasis in Trauma, which prepares students to treat developmental childhood and adulthood trauma-related disorders

• Master of Science in Professional Counseling with an Emphasis in Childhood and Adolescent Disorders, helping students treat childhood- and adolescence-related disorders, developmental issues, child-parent issues and more

Contact Laurie Merrill at (602) 639-6511 or laurie.merrill@gcu.edu.

The post New CHSS psychology, counseling programs reflect workforce demand appeared first on GCU Today.

By Laurie Merrill
GCU News Bureau

Ashlyn Tupper’s face crumpled into sorrow one moment and brightened with a wry grin the next as she depicted four distinct characters while practicing a speech at Grand Canyon University on Wednesday night.

GCU senior Ashlyn Tupper

The GCU senior’s topic was why men portray women characters in video games, and one of her roles was Lara Croft from “Tomb Raider,” a heroine who performs spectacular feats while wearing very tight clothes.

“And heaven forbid I get a different outfit,” Tupper beseeched the audience. “I’m killing people for hours on end. A girl can’t get some sweatpants and a sweatshirt after a long day?”

She and other members of GCU’s speech and debate team, part of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, were rehearsing on the eve of their departure Thursday for the Aztec Invitational at San Diego State University. The tournament, Friday through Sunday, will involve students from 30 colleges and is the first of 10 competitions, mostly in California, in which GCU’s 18-member team, which includes eight returnees, will compete this year.

At last year’s tournament, the students brought home awards in impromptu speaking, persuasive speaking and dramatic interpretation, said communications instructor Barry Regan, the team’s founder and adviser. Although this year’s team is young, it’s also strong, Regan said.

“I think we’re going to be awesome,” he said. “They have accomplished a lot more than their class standing.”

For example, juniors Zachary Kuykendall and Thomas Rotering were the runners-up in parliamentary debate at a prestigious national competition for Christian universities.

“Usually the team that reaches that level is (made up of) seniors,” Regan said. “We had a team that made it to finals as sophomores.”

Both Tupper and (Chloe) Saunders won first place awards in their speech categories in the same national contest. Saunders is only a sophomore this year.

“We are very fortunate,” their coach said.

Speech and debate are different areas of competition, and Regan, who debated in high school and college and started the GCU team two years ago, is passionate about both. Speech enhances essential oral communication skills that so many companies seek.

Communications instructor and speech and debate team adviser, Barry Regan

“Debate is the training ground for how to enact policy or formulate policy at a local, state and federal level,” Regan said, noting that until recent years, more than half of members of the U.S. Congress had debate experience.

GCU students participate in the parliamentary debate style, which pits two students per team against each other. They learn just 20 minutes before the competition what topic they will argue, so to prepare, they become well-versed on major current events, Regan said. Topics they might face this weekend include Russia’s bombing of Syria, U.S. relations with Cuba and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Regan said.

Speeches are either memorized or extemporaneous, and topics stem from literature and poetry. Students touch on big social issues, such as gender, class and race, Regan said.

“We get to tell stories in a meaningful light,” Tupper said before she practiced her speech. “We tell messages that are related to societal issues and we get to do it in a creative way.”

Saunders, a sophomore, on Wednesday was rehearsing a speech about the overmedication of foster children. Saunders said she knows a child who was prescribed five different medications before the age of 6, and another with whom she was familiar had lived in 16 foster homes.

Tupper and sophomore Chloe Saunders

“I like being able to reach people,” she said of debate. “Our subjects aren’t exactly findable in the news.”

Tupper’s speech topic was taken from a compilation of poetry about the objectification and hyper-sexualization of women characters in the video-game arena. In addition to acting the part of Croft during her speech, Tupper also portrayed a gamer, the girlfriend of a gamer, and the mother of a son about to play his first video game.

The other members of the speech and debate team are: juniors Jacob Barney, Jessica Bradley, Austin Johnson and Felicia Lopez; sophomores Alaina Owen and Christian Alandzes; and freshmen Jasmin Sharp, TaylorRae Humbert, Chrycia LeGendre, Keliann Nash, Thomas Gleason, Kara Sutton, Stepan Stadnitskiy and Brian White.

Contact Laurie Merrill at (602) 639-6511 or laurie.merrill@gcu.edu.

The post Speech and debate team begins season this weekend appeared first on GCU Today.

By Janie Magruder
GCU News Bureau

The Mason brothers, from left, Darek, Dilon and Woody, have a positive attitude about Dilon’s chances for a full recovery from cancer after Woody, a GCU employee, donated some of his stem cells. (Photos courtesy of the Mason family)

Dilon and Woody Mason were born two minutes apart on an autumn day in St. Paul, Minn., identical twins who grew up worshipping the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre and devouring bags of apples. Woody grew up healthy, despite his tiny (3.2 pounds) too-early arrival, but his older and slightly heavier (4.2 pounds at birth) brother was plagued throughout childhood by high fevers and illnesses.

The Mason family never thought too much about that until, at age 15, Dilon was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Their parents decided to treat the cancer with natural methods and assumed a positive attitude about their son’s recovery.

And improve he did until the disease returned with a vengeance when the twins were 21. This time, Dilon received slightly more aggressive non-medical treatment and all was thought to be well for more than a decade during which time the brothers married and started successful careers, Dilon in business and Woody at Grand Canyon University.

“That lasted until about three years ago when Dilon got really bad and wasn’t able to function, and the doctors said he only had six months left to live,” said Woody, an online full-time faculty member in the College of Education since 2010.

Heavy doses of chemotherapy and stem-cell therapy, using blood donated by Woody, saved Dilon’s life last January.

“I would have given him anything, whatever it takes,” said Woody, 35, of the journey that the duo has been on for more than half their lives. “If I could have switched places with him, I would have.”

The experience left a mark on Woody who, along with his wife, Allison, an assistant dean in GCU’s Colangelo College of Business, and others from across the University community are planning to participate in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. The non-competitive walk, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24, at Tempe Beach Park, raises awareness and funds for breast cancer research and patient and family services.

Maria Quimba, associate dean in the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, said faculty, staff, students, alumni and their family members and friends are invited to be involved in a variety of very GCU-like ways: “Participate — Walk — Donate — Pray.”

GCU is a partner with the American Cancer Society on a number of initiatives, but its involvement in the Making Strides event, which falls during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is purely grass roots, she said.

“The colleges have risen up to participate in this because our people have been personally touched by cancer,” said Quimba, a member of the board of directors of the American Cancer Society, Arizona district. “Our goal is to share stories of survivorship, reach out to those who are fighting, and come together as one community to show that we care.”

Although breast cancer often is thought of as a women’s disease, it impacts the physical, mental and emotional health of men and children, too, she said. According to 2015 statistics from the National Cancer Institute, 231,840 women and 2,350 men are expected to be diagnosed in the U.S. this year with breast cancer. Nationwide, more than 40,000 women are expected to die this year from breast cancer, which is the second leading cause of death of women behind heart disease.

Quimba said everyone should be aware of the importance of annual breast evaluations and monthly self-examinations, research progress and advancements in genetic testing and other technology that aids early diagnosis, treatment and recovery. The Making Strides event offers that education outreach, in addition to being a leisurely walk around Tempe Town Lake at a beautiful time of year.

GCU’s team leaders are Connie Colbert, director of the Canyon Health and Wellness Center, Brandon Warner of the CONHCP, Allison Mason of the CCOB, Cindy Seminoff of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, Jennifer Jones of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Jonathan Sharpe of the College of Theology, Susannah Keita of the College of Fine Arts and Production, Arielle Alvarez of the Tempe office complex, Quimba, representing the Peoria office complex and Veronica Perez of the 27^th Avenue of the office complex.

Ultimate brotherly love

On Christmas night 2014, in what the Mason family hoped would be the beginning of Dilon’s final battle with cancer, Woody arrived in Dallas to begin the stem-cell transplant process in the hospital where his brother was receiving chemotherapy. The transplant was followed by months of

Woody, an online full-time faculty member at GCU, donated stem cells to his twin, Dilon, at a Dallas hospital in December 2014.

therapies and now, physical therapy and surgery to correct the damage inflicted by cancer.

But for nine blessed months Dilon has been cancer-free, and feeling better every day.

“He’s been ‘cured’ before, but this time it was a different type of cancer that progresses and got very aggressive, but is very responsive to the stem-cell treatment,” Woody said. “It’s hard for me trivialize how hard this has been for him, so much pain he went through. For two years, he couldn’t get out of bed in the morning. He would have a couple of hours of awake time, and would take a lot of naps. A lot of days he couldn’t even put on his clothes.”

GCU made it possible for Woody to be there for Dilon. “When I asked my manager, Sheila Damiani, if I could leave at Christmastime, she said, ‘Do what you need to do,’” he said. “GCU was there for me, totally there. I’m indebted.”

Woody, Allison and their two small children plan to walk at Making Strides because they feel strongly about supporting all cancer victims and their families. Later this year they are hoping to host a family reunion of the Mason parents, Dilon and his wife, and the twins’ two older siblings and their families for an Arizona Christmas.

That may involve a birthday cake with candles and singing on Jan. 8, the date of Dilon’s “new birthday,” when his little brother saved his life.

Contact Janie Magruder at (602) 639-8018 or janie.magruder@gcu.edu.

The post GCU strengthens ties to breast cancer fight appeared first on GCU Today.

By GCU News Bureau

A little rain and lightning wasn’t going to keep the Class of 2015 from its fall commencement celebration. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

Crazy weather was no match for the uber-determined non-traditional graduates of Grand Canyon University who powered through snarled traffic, dashed through a hard rainstorm and spilled onto campus sidewalks Friday for the first of four fall commencement ceremonies in a gussied-up Arena.

A wicked dust storm that had cell phones buzzing with alerts and lightning that made you think twice about being outdoors couldn’t keep these folks away. (One graduate’s trip from her home about in Casa Grande, about 60 miles southeast of Phoenix, reportedly took three hours.) More lightning before Saturday afternoon’s celebration and menacing purple rain clouds swirling around GCU Saturday evening failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the graduates, their family members and friends.

After all, what’s a little weather when you’ve raised a family, worked full-time, struggled with technology, cared for aging parents, studied into the wee hours and/or put everyone else first while earning a college degree?

All hail to the Class of 2015, you might say.

For the first time, GCU held four commencement ceremonies for non-traditional graduates over a two-day period. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

Nearly 3,150 online graduates in the Colangelo College of Business, College of Doctoral Studies, College of Education, College of Fine Arts and Production, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Nursing and Health Care Professions and College of Theology showed up in their Sunday best (and some in T-shirts and shorts) to receive their diplomas.

The four ceremonies — a GCU record for two days — also drew more than 16,000 guests, many carrying roses in crisp cellophane, shiny balloons, cameras and Kleenex. They weren’t about to miss this moment, either.

Here’s some of what we heard and saw (click here for our slideshow).

—Janie Magruder

Commencement speaker’s faith is no illusion

Jared Hall is an illusionist, but even he gets confused while doing more than 100 shows a year.

“Every morning I look at my phone to see where I’m at,” he said.

Commencement speaker Jared Hall makes it “snow” in Phoenix at the conclusion of his address. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

This weekend he found himself in Phoenix doing something a little different — the commencement address at GCU. He still did a couple of tricks, but he spent most of his time at the podium sharing stories about his past and his faith, with a few jokes thrown in to keep it light.

“This is fun,” he said. “It’s a little bit more formal than most events that I do, but it was kind of a fun thing to be part of. It gets my wheels turning, too.”

Hall grew up in Baytown, Texas, wanting to be a Las Vegas magician (“Like Seinfeld & Roy and David Coppertone,” he joked). He still does tricks, but he has found his niche in something a little different: He uses his act to spread the Gospel and inspire people, especially the young.

It took an unfortunate event for Hall to truly find his identity. Upon getting up one morning he discovered that a trailer containing all of his equipment, $20,000 worth, had been stolen from in front of his house.

“Who I was was wrapped up in those props, those illusions,” he said.

Not anymore. This weekend, he urged the graduates to not only find their identity but also live intentionally and seek to inspire others.

“To inspire you must first be inspired,” he told the audience. “It’s a transferrable thing, inspiration — a gift best received, then given.

“And your identity is in Christ. Your identity is more than your diploma, your salary, your career.”

Life has changed for Hall this year. He got married in May, and his wife, Maegan, travels with him. They happily shared restaurant reviews and were on the lookout for new places to try.

“Since I got married, I’ve kind of slowed my pace a little bit and tried to enjoy more of the city,” he said. “There have been times we’ve even stayed over.”

All the better to figure out where he is.

—Rick Vacek

North Pole man visits Phoenix for first time

You’ll forgive Tom Resseger if he thought it was a bit warm Saturday. While Phoenicians were fairly giddy about the 88-degree high (hey, it’s better than 100), he might have felt more comfortable at home in Alaska, where it was half as warm.

New GCU graduate Tom Resseger (right), pictured with his son, Devin, came all the way from North Pole, AK, for Saturday’s commencement ceremony. (Photos courtesy of Tom Resseger)

The mercury didn’t get past the 38 degrees in North Pole, a town of about 2,200 people southeast of Fairbanks where Resseger, a new GCU graduate, has lived for two years. North Pole, which has a website bedecked in Christmas colors, is about 210 miles south of the Arctic Circle, the distance from Tucson to Prescott.

Resseger, 40, flew to Phoenix for the first time last week to receive his bachelor’s degree in nursing at commencement Saturday night.

Nursing is rooted in Resseger’s family, and it was a natural choice for him. He obtained an associate’s degree and for 15 years has worked in a variety of nursing positions, including an Intensive Care Unit, on a telemetry floor and in outpatient surgery. Currently, he is a nurse at the Tanana Chiefs Conference, a tribal consortium of the 42 villages in Alaska’s interior that provides, among other services, health care to Indian Health Service patients.

Resseger enrolled in GCU at the urging of friend Kendra Harding (left), who also graduated Saturday but was not able to attend the ceremony.

Resseger said moving to Alaska, where the sun shines for 21 hours a day during parts of the summer and can put a person’s circadian rhythm out of whack, gave him a perfect opportunity to return to school and build his future. GCU provided the flexibility he needed to work around his schedule.

A friend in North Pole, Kendra Harding, already was a student in GCU’s online nursing program and convinced Resseger to enroll, too. Harding also graduated Saturday but did not attend commencement.

“What drew me in was that GCU made it financially feasible, but I also liked that I could take courses for five weeks, then take two weeks off, which opened the door for me to travel when I needed to for work and to experience Alaska,” said Resseger, who enjoys fishing and cross-country skiing.

The single father of a 20-year-old son, Devin, Resseger plans to return this summer to Ohio or possibly become a traveling nurse, having fulfilled a three-year personal commitment to live in Alaska. Resseger will miss the incredible wildlife, the literally breathtaking cold (his coldest was minus 36), and North Pole’s melting pot community of friendly troops stationed at nearby military bases, native people and Russians.

“When I came here, I said it would be an open-book journey,” he said. “I’m ready to start that next chapter. It seems appropriate now that I have my BSN.”

—Janie Magruder

Pomp + circumstance = a lot of work

The commencement fairy at GCU doesn’t just sprinkle a little magic dust and — poof! — four ceremonies involving 3,147 graduates and 16,279 guests come off with nary a hiccup.

It takes an army of volunteers, smiling and pointing to available spaces in the parking garages, fussing over the regalia of the excited graduates, happily greeting visitors outside the Arena, guiding balloon- and flower-toting family members to their seats, warmly providing assistance to people with special needs and tending to the University’s administrators and faculty seated on stage, to pull it off.

Smiles like these make all of those commencement-prep hours worth it. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

The smiles are all worth it to Vanessa Jones, ground administrator in the disability services office and captain of the special needs team.

“My favorite memory would probably be the first time the executive team saw that we clap for the graduates when the graduates exit the Arena, and then without hesitation joined in our applause,” said Jones, who wore awesome silver sparkly Vans shoes to commencement Saturday night. “All of their faces lit up, and then all of the graduates exiting were even more overwhelmed and elated to see the president (Brian Mueller) standing there clapping for them, to round the corner and find all of us volunteers there cheering as well.”

GCU does an amazing job of sending its new alumni into the world on a positive, celebratory note, starting with graduation guru Jennifer Girl, director of campus events. Girl works year-round on GCU’s fall, winter and spring commencement ceremonies, always with a smile on her face, and is gracious about sharing the credit with her commencement captains.

This time, there are 14 faculty and staff members who organized their respective stations and volunteer crews of more than 200 people for each of the four ceremonies Friday and Saturday. Let’s meet some of them:

● Scott Busch and Vanessa Daniels, check-in staff captains: Busch, associate director in the Office of Academic Records (OAR), and Daniels, an OAR manager, have been involved in commencement for four years and eight years, respectively.

Busch is involved because, he said, “The excitement of the participants and volunteers is always enjoyable and, of course, I get to work with Vanessa Daniels.” Daniels, who has participated in every GCU commencement since 2008, said she loves the energy and magnitude of the moment.

“Graduation is a rite of passage,” she said. “The years of hard work and dedication needed to earn a degree should be celebrated.”

● Jacqueline Smith and Jackie Cotoia, regalia captains (“The Jackie and Jackie Show”): Smith, director of career services, and Cotoia, an admissions representative for the traditional campus, have a combined 13 years at commencement, seven for Smith and six for Cotoia. Additionally, Smith’s husband, Dave, director of academic excellence in the College of Education, is one of two people announcing the thousands of graduates’ names from the stage.

Commencement captains and their volunteers work long hours to make commencement a night to remember. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

“I love seeing the graduates so happy and the families so proud of them,” Jackie Smith said. “I love hearing all the stories — how far they drove … obstacles they have overcome. It’s why we are here at GCU. It’s my favorite time of year.”

Cotoia, who took last spring’s commencement off to watch her son, Anthony, graduate, said her husband, John, volunteered instead. She most enjoys seeing the graduates’ faces right before they walk onto stage in front of thousands of cheering people.

“Most are so nervous they pay no attention to what is going on,” said Cotoia, who accepts their name cards and points them across stage to receive their diplomas. “Talk about stage fright! I try to get them to relax with kind words and remind them to smile for the camera.”

● Beth Jamison, executive regalia captain: Jamison, manager of disability services, is a seven-year volunteer who participates rain or shine. The first year she was captain at commencement, in 2011 at Chase Field, Herb Kelleher, founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines, was among the guests. It was a highlight for her to meet and talk with him about his work. Jamison loves volunteering at commencement because everything GCU does is about getting students there.

“The Events team and Jennifer Girl really know how to put on a show and make everything look amazing for the students,” Jamison said. “It’s a big day. It helps give perspective on what we are all doing here at GCU.”

● Emily Montoya and Micah Dennard, captains of graduate seating: Montoya, an admissions manager, and Dennard, an admissions representative, have been at the seating

This is why GCU staffers volunteer at commencement. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

helm for two years. Seeing the excitement of the graduates, especially those who are the first in their families to go to college, is one of the reasons Montoya volunteers. Dennard finds it satisfying helping the graduates’ days go smoothly.

Jones has been assisting special-needs folks attending commencement for four years.

“I love getting to share in such an exciting day for our students,” she said. “Getting to smile with them, congratulate them and assist them on this important day is incredibly rewarding and reminds me why we do what we do here. It all leads up to that ceremony, that accomplishment, and we get to be a part of that.”

—Janie Magruder

Teachers urged to be ‘force for good’

Dr. Kimberly LaPrade

Dr. Kimberly LaPrade, dean of the College of Education, looked across the sea of online students getting their bachelor’s and master’s degrees Saturday at GCU Arena.

“Today we come together as one group, the class of 2015, but also a much larger one…the field of education, the teaching profession, the most noble of professions,” LaPrade said.

LaPrade said graduation is a milestone and a time for mixed emotions. “Be a force for good,” she urged the graduates. “Congratulations and God bless you all.”

—Laurie Merrill

Graduate blessed by GCU enrollment ‘angel’

If not for an “angel,” Lynn Bintliff of Pennsylvania wouldn’t have graduated Saturday from the College of Education. It’s because of her angel that Bintliff studied online and earned her long awaited bachelor’s in educational studies.

And why did she and her husband embark last week on the “trip of a lifetime” across the U.S. to Arizona? You guessed it — it all started with the angel, Michele Kramlich, a COE enrollment counselor for the northeast region. The prospect of meeting Kramlich at Saturday morning’s COE commencement was almost as exciting to Bintliff as getting her diploma.

Bintliff’s road to college began in 1977, when she graduated from high school in Clifton, N.J. She went on to secretarial school, got married, had children and stayed home. When Bintliff returned to the workforce 15 years later, she realized her skills were outdated and she began studying at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pa.

The college hired Bintliff as an administrative assistant to the nursing director even before Bintliff earned an associate’s degree in 2003. Bintliff is still employed at the college, as an administrative assistant in Academic and Curricular Services. But she was intent on getting her bachelor’s.

She began taking online classes at GCU in 2012, completing most of the coursework before a series of events prompted her to withdraw. Last January, Bintliff asked GCU about finally finishing her degree, but she had doubts. How many classes did she still need? Did she still need to student teach to graduate? Was it worth it?

Michele Kramlich (left), an enrollment counselor in the College of Education, and new graduate Lynn Bintliff met face-to-face for the first time Saturday on campus.

“I thought, ‘Do I really need this?’ Then, Michele called. Within 24 hours, she had determined I would need just 12 credits to complete my degree in the newly implemented program,” Bintliff said.

“Within two weeks, I was in class.”

Kramlich said the help she gave is part of her job and that the term “angel” is an exaggeration. “She is too funny,” Kramlich said. “She didn’t really need my help. She could see the light at the end of the tunnel immediately.”

Bintliff and Kramlich agreed to meet before Saturday’s graduation at a set time in the GCU Arena lobby. They were texting each other, not knowing they were six feet apart, when Bintliff heard an unmistakably familiar voice and stood face to face with Kramlich.

“I knew it was you right away,” Bintliff said minutes later after their hug-filled meeting, smiling warmly at her friend for life. “This is incredible to me, to see my journey come full circle.”

Bintliff’s story is what Kramlich’s job is all about.

“I’ve been working in higher education for 16 years,” Kramlich said. “The most rewarding part of it is seeing people meet their goal and knowing you’ve been a part of that.”

Two hours later, as Bintliff walked across the stage to pick up her diploma, Kramlich joined in the cheering for Bintliff. Tears streamed down Bintliff’s face when Kramlich congratulated her in person.

“Thank you,” Bintliff said. “Thank you for being part of it.”

—Laurie Merrill

Grandma knows best: This 75-year-old never stops learning

One of best moments of Mary Trickel’s visit to GCU came when her 21-year-old grandson was working out in the fitness center at the hotel and was asked by another man there why he was in town. When he replied he was here for the GCU commencement ceremony, the man asked him what his degree was in.

Dr. Mary Trickel

“No, my grandmother’s graduating,” he said. “She’s getting her doctorate.”

“Your grandmother rocks!” the man exclaimed.

But this isn’t just any rockin’ grandma. This is a wise-cracking 75-year-old who jokes, “I’m just thankful I completed the program before I turn senile.”

Trickel, who was profiled in this 2013 GCU Today story, had an ulterior motive for bringing two of her grandsons to witness the big event: The East Stroudsburg, Pa., resident is always looking for ways to inspire them to continue their education, passing down a belief system her father instilled in her.

So what do you do when you’re retired from your 16-year role as vice president for finance and operations at Middlesex County (N.J.) College and now can call yourself a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership with an Emphasis in Higher Education Leadership? You keep looking for ways to give back, that’s what.

While visiting GCU for the first time this weekend, Trickel met with Dr. Cynthia Bainbridge of the College of Doctoral Studies to talk over the possibility of mentoring other doctoral learners, just as she did with her cohort.

“As alumni, we understand what the student is going through and some of the frustrations, and we also understand what’s expected from the University to complete the program,” she said.

Trickel also wants to network with other alumni, continue to do consulting work in higher education and volunteer at universities that are struggling with strategic planning (her dissertation was titled, “The Exploration of Succession Planning Strategies in New Jersey Community Colleges”).

“I have a reputation for a positive attitude,” she said.

Ya think? Rock on, Dr. Trickel.

—Rick Vacek

He reached his goal with an assist from his enrollment counselor

John Johnson loves doing Bible studies and thought it would be a good idea to get a master’s degree in the subject. But when he signed up for the online program at GCU, his first thought was, “Why am I doing this? I’m not a technical guy. I feel like a fish out of water.”

Enter his enrollment counselor, Trinita Doughty.

John Johnson

Johnson, a 65-year-old insurance and investment sales broker who lives in Spokane, Wash., visited the campus for Destination GCU and met Doughty, who made him feel at home both at the University and in the online program.

“I really believe that face-to-face interaction helped,” she said.

Did it ever.

“I thought, ‘If she’s a good indication of what GCU is like, I’d be a fool not to do it,’” Johnson said.

But Doughty didn’t stop there. She called Johnson every couple of months to make sure he was on track, and the payoff came Saturday when Johnson received his degree in Biblical Studies of Christian Leadership.

Johnson, who admits to being “a bit of a perfectionist,” showed during his coursework that he hadn’t forgotten how to study despite being out of school for so long. He got straight As.

What does he do with his degree? “I really don’t know except having the satisfaction of completing this,” he said.

But he did have one task in his immediate future: He was showing Christian leadership by bringing some things to a friend’s nephew, a student at GCU. Clearly, this is a man who does more than just study the Bible — he lives it.

—Rick Vacek

Employees show their mastery

GCU fosters continuing education by offering free tuition to employees and their immediate families, and more than a few staff members take advantage of the opportunity. But two of them who got their master’s degrees Saturday afternoon have paid dearly in other ways to get where they are.

Previn Carr

Previn Carr, an enrollment counselor in the CONHCP who works at GCU’s Peoria campus, began work on his degree during a two-year stretch in which he and his wife, Kimberly, were adopting five — count ’em, five — children even though they already had a daughter who’s now 13.

All five kids (two boys, three girls) have the same mother, and Carr said it just kind of worked out the way it did because the adoption agency wanted to keep the siblings together.

“The agency liked us so much, they’d say, ‘Hey, how about one more?’” Carr said. “Then it was two more, and then another, and then another, and I finally had to say, ‘OK, that’s it.’”

Kimberly had warned her future husband while they were dating that she wanted “a house full of children,” and now she’s working with the HOPE Foundation of Arizona, a nonprofit adoption-support organization, to help families transition the way hers did.

Once the Carr family got used to the idea that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were school days for Dad, everything worked out fine. Previn, an assistant pastor at his church who also was a senior pastor elsewhere for 15 years, said working at GCU inspired him to get his Master of Arts in Christian Studies with an Emphasis in Pastoral Ministries.

Komi Lokossou (holding diploma) and his family

“What makes me proud is that they see me as an example,” he said. “We’re trying to set a good example in education. Watching me motivated them to work harder in school.”

Another employee with a big smile on his face and a mortarboard on his head Saturday was Komi Lokossou, but the smile part was nothing new: Lokossou, profiled in this GCU Today story/video last year, never tires of greeting everyone he sees on campus in his role as a public safety officer.

Now, however, he’s an officer with an MBA with an emphasis in strategic human resource management. The father of 10 had 50 family members and friends on hand Saturday for his big moment. So it was time to party right afterward, right? Not quite.

“We’re going to party Sunday after church,” he said. “We’re going to praise the Lord first.”

The Lord is smiling, too.

—Rick Vacek

Longtime teacher reaches dream, conquers technology along the way

For Ernesteen “Tena” Budak of San Bernadino, Calif., the death of her father was heartbreaking, and the nocturnal stress seizures she suffered left her incapacitated for days at a time. But they weren’t the biggest hurdles she had to clear while earning her online master’s degree over the last year and a half, a feat she completed when she got her diploma Saturday morning.

Celebrating with GCU graduate Ernesteen “Tena” Budak are, from left, Luca, son Dylan, Budak, granddaughter Makayla and daughter Stephanie.

Budak, 51, said her biggest challenge was the technology. Everything about the class was online — textbooks, lectures, homework, even communicating with classmates, she said.

“I’m not a techie person,” Budak said. “Everybody at work teased me because I don’t even check emails. I still don’t check my emails. I have about 900 unread work emails right now.”

She began her program, Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction: Reading with an Emphasis in Elementary Education, in the spring of 2014. At first, Budak spent a great deal of time on the phone with GCU’s ITS department.

Now more proficient on the Internet, Budak often incorporates its use in lessons for her second- and third grade pupils at Fitzgerald Elementary in the Rialto (Calif.) Unified School District, where she just began her 21st year as a teacher.

She didn’t have time until two years ago to pursue a master’s degree because for 20 years she’d juggled her family, job, role as PTA president and duties as a soccer coach.

“I’m not coaching soccer, I’m not a PTA president, and my daughters are grown and out of the house,” Budak said.

On Saturday, two of her children, Stephanie and Dylan, her granddaughter Makayla, and Luca, a foreign exchange student from Italy who lives in Budak’s home, watched Budak graduate. Before going inside for the ceremony, her family gathered around Budak in front of GCU Arena. Her eyes filled with tears of happiness and gratitude.

“I’ve waited a long time for this,” she said.

—Laurie Merrill

Contact the GCU News Bureau at GCU.Today@gcu.edu.

The post Fall commencement 2015: Hard work pays off appeared first on GCU Today.

By Rick Vacek
GCU News Bureau

Finding the right words is a challenge for everyone, including those who do it for a living. Just ask any teachers, public speakers or writers.

“One of the things I joke about with my students, especially when I’m teaching Relational Communication, is that just because I teach it doesn’t mean that I’m always good at it,” said Josh Danaher, an assistant professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Grand Canyon University. “It just means I know the theories associated with how to explain it — because, man, I’m not always a good communicator.”

Josh Danaher

So it wasn’t a surprise Friday morning when Danaher’s humorous and informative presentation, “Communication and the Christian Faith,” for the second “Lunch and Learn” installment of the College of Theology‘s Integration of Faith, Learning and Work program, was followed by a long Q-and-A session with faculty members at Howerton Hall. It’s a hot-button issue, and their buttons were most definitely pushed.

Danaher’s talk sparked a long discussion about the difficulty of communicating effectively — teacher to student, student to teacher, teacher to teacher, human being to human being.

“These are issues that we face every day,” Danaher said. “That’s what students catch onto really quickly. They understand that what they’ve been doing is an integral part of their nature as human beings, but they could do it better.”

In addition to Relational Communication, Danaher teaches Intercultural Communication, Public Speaking and Mass Media at GCU, where he has been an instructor for five years after starting in the Maricopa Community College system.

In his talk, he emphasized that the keys to Christian communication are threefold: It is grounded in a redemptive worldview that builds relationships and draws out the value in people, it is filled with humility and mindful listening that values insights and counsel, and it is aimed at truth and justice but seasoned with grace.

The area that drew the most comments in the faculty discussion after Danaher’s talk was how communication can go awry when the listener is more aware of forming a reply that is based on how they interpret the world rather than what the speaker is saying.

Mindful listening is a skill, Danaher said, and he suggested that one way to be a better listener is to practice RASA (Receive, Ask, Summarize, Appreciate) and avoid snap judgments.

“You don’t respond until you’re mindful of being charitable to the other position,” he said.

Danaher tries to be equally mindful of this when he writes comments on students’ papers because he has noticed that, when his evaluation contains constructive criticism, students’ interpretation tends to be that he doesn’t like them.

“This is really applicable to the online classroom,” he said.

Dr. Jason Hiles, dean of the College of Theology, then did a talk on “Work as Cultivation,” noting that God created the world alone but creates culture through humans. “Culture refers to what we cultivate together,” he said.

The final word: “As communicators, we’re connectors,” Danaher said. The trick is to accomplish that in a world that is connected more than ever but too often fails to communicate.

Contact Rick Vacek at (602) 639-8203 or rick.vacek@gcu.edu.

The post No loss for words at ‘Lunch and Learn’ on communication appeared first on GCU Today.

By Laurie Merrill
GCU News Bureau

GCU’s speech and debate team beat top competitors from Arizona State University and the University of California, Berkeley, as it notched its first overall tournament victory this past weekend.

The young team finished first among 11 four-year universities at the Robert Barbera Collegiate Forensics Invitational #1 at California State University, Northridge. It bested ASU, ranked in the top 10 in the nation last year, and UC Berkeley, which has five of the top 10-ranked competitors in Northern California.

“I believe it ranks as our most impressive team victory in the regular season in the three-year history of our team,” said team director Barry Regan, a College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) communications instructor. “Beating both of these programs is truly a landmark moment for our team.”

Key performers included freshmen Chrycia LeGendre, Keliann Nash, Brian White, Thomas Gleason and TaylorRaie Humbert and juniors Jessica Bradley, Thomas Rotering and Zachary Kuykendall, Regan said.

“I am especially proud of the fact that 70 percent of our sweepstakes points were accumulated by freshmen, which is very rare for a four-year school to accomplish,” Regan said.

He also offered profuse praise to assistant coach Michael Dvorak, a CHSS faculty member.

CHSS Dean Sherman Elliott said he was “over-the-top impressed” with the team’s victory. “It is so rare to witness such a young team’s talent come to fruition in such a meaningful way,” Elliott said.

Coming up next:

• GCU and ASU are competing at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, in the “Battle for the Valley Speech-Off,” tentatively scheduled to be held in Peet’s on the second floor of the Student Union.

• The team’s final fall semester tournament is scheduled for Dec. 4-6 at the Pacific Southwest Collegiate Forensics Association Fall Championships at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif.

The post GCU topples ASU, UC Berkeley in speech and debate tournament appeared first on GCU Today.

Lopes Justice Society-Law Enforcement Club tournament participants are (from left) student Bridgette Smith, assistant professor Cornel Stemley, and students Sarah Rapp, Blake McCormick, Arturo Echeverria, Tyler Carson, James Luong and Chris Rogers. (Photo courtesy of Cornel Stemley)

GCU won high scores in the recent Region 1 American Criminal Justice Association Competition in Sacramento:

Top Academic – Bridgette Smith

1st Place, Criminal Law, Lower Division – Bridgette Smith

1st Place, Police Management, Lower Division – Bridgette Smith

2nd Place, Corrections, Lower Division – Bridgette Smith

2nd Place, LAE Knowledge, Lower Division – Bridgette Smith

2nd Place, Juvenile Justice, Professional Division – Cornel Stemley

3rd Place, Police Management, Professional Division – Cornel Stemley

3rd Place, Corrections, Professional Division – Cornel Stemley

Physical Agility:

1st Place, Upper Division – Chris Rogers

3rd Place, Upper Division – James Luong

Firearms, Individual:

1st Place, Lower Division – Sarah Rapp

2nd Place, Upper Division – Blake McCormick

3rd Place, Upper Division – James Luong

3rd Place, Lower Division – Bridgette Smith

Firearms, Team:

1st Place, Upper Division – James Luong, Chris Rogers, Blake McCormick

1st Place, Lower Division – Arturo Echeverria, Tyler Carlson, Sarah Rapp

The post Lopes Justice Society-Law Enforcement Club triumph in competition appeared first on GCU Today.

Story by Laurie Merrill
Photos by Darryl Webb
GCU News Bureau

A rape victim’s agonizing decision, a man who dared tell the truth about a popular football coach, a woman who was abducted and held as a slave for 10 years.

These were among topics explored by members of GCU’s speech and debate team Wednesday night at the Student Union.

In their dramatic solo portrayals, three freshmen and a sophomore showed audience members why the three-year-old team is ranked among the top 20 schools in the nation. The four students expressed a devastating range of emotions that went far beyond the headlines and revealed depth of feelings that may be difficult to confront.

“These are stories worth telling,” said sophomore team member Chloe Saunders.

Sophomore Chloe Saunders dramatized the role of a woman held in captivity in Cleveland for 10 years during a speech and debate team showcase.

Freshman TaylorRae Humbert dramatized the role of a woman raising a daughter whose father was a rapist.

During her performance, she grappled with the contradictions of the experience of carrying the child of the man who had so cruelly hurt her.

She spoke of the woman’s agonizing reality that she would spend the rest of her life with a reminder of the assault, that one day she would have to tell her daughter that her father raped her mother, and that even her family members wouldn’t celebrate the birth of a baby who was created during violence.

“I just didn’t understand how something so horrible could create something so beautiful,” she said.

One thing the mother knew — that when the time comes to tell her daughter about her father, she will assure her, “It’s not your fault.”

TaylorRae Humbert riveted a GCU audience with her portrayal of a rape victim during a speech and debate team performance.

In one of his two presentations, freshman Thomas Gleason performed the role of a grown-up victim of Jerry Sandusky, a convicted serial child molester who was an assistant football coach for his entire career, mostly at Pennsylvania State University under the late Joe Paterno.

In his role as adult molestation victim, he recalled the joy and reverence he felt as a boy when he first stepped foot on the Penn State campus and met Sandusky.

“I look back now … I realize Jerry had things planned from the very beginning,” he said, remembering how eventually the boy spent many nights in Sandusky’s house.

“He began having me lie on top of him for long periods of time,” he said. He said the boy knew in his heart this was wrong, but he let it go. This was Jerry Sandusky. He should be grateful for all the coach had done.

And besides, he was afraid of Sandusky. He had a temper and had hurt him.

Gleason spoke of coming forward with the story and how protesters accused the victims — others also came forward — of hurting Penn State for the money.

Later, when the victim took the stand in Sandusky’s criminal trial, he said, “I felt so exposed. I just started to cry.”

Freshman speech and debate team member Thomas Gleason presented two performances Wednesday night.

But the truth, he said, is “I don’t want people to feel sorry for me.”

Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse and is serving a sentence of between 30 and 60 years.

Chloe Saunders, a sophomore, portrayed one of the women who had been abducted by a Cleveland man and held in sexual slavery for 10 years.

She spoke of how naïve she had been, agreeing to let the man her mother’s age give her a ride to his house, and how after she got there he ordered her to take down her pants and later chained her in the basement.

She spoke of wanting affection from her captor, her anger at missing high school and never getting a driver’s license, and how she conceived and gave birth to a daughter in captivity.

After she and other captives were freed, she said, “Maybe me finding my voice will help another girl find hers.”

Freshman Chrycia LeGendre performed a piece about the first woman allowed to fight in the UFC, Ronda Rousey, and how Rousey is a role model for women who want to compete in any league against any opponent.

Chrycia LeGendre did a portrayal of UFC fighter Ronda Rousey.

The fighter beat great odds to become a UFC fighter by maintaining a belief in herself.

“I ignored everybody who told me it couldn’t be done,” she said.

In his other performance, Gleason spoke about superheroes and their impact. Thor tried to kill Captain America in their first meeting, he said, but the comic strip icons mostly repress their emotions.

That makes sense, he said, if you are like Batman and “emulating a nocturnal animal,” but not in the real world.

“These heroes are made to be perfect, not realistic,” he said.

One solution? Make heroes more like real men.

Several students interviewed after the performances said they appreciated the courage of the speech and debate team, which is headed by Barry Regan, College of Humanities and Social Sciences communication instructor.

“It was very intense but very enlightening at the same time to hear the issues up front,” said attendee Elizabeth Garlick, a sophomore. “I think it’s necessary.”

Contact Laurie Merrill at (602) 639-6511 or laurie.merrill@gcu.edu.

The post Speech and Debate team performances reveal depth of emotion appeared first on GCU Today.

By Laurie Merrill
GCU News Bureau

When it comes to parliamentary debate, there is perhaps no bigger honor than qualifying for a first-round bid to the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence (NPTE).

GCU speech and debate team director Barry Regan, center, is flanked by juniors Thomas Rotering, left, and Zachary Kuykendall, right.

Two Grand Canyon University juniors, Thomas Rotering and Zachary Kuykendall, have accomplished just that, a feat that puts GCU’s speech and debate team on the national map and brings more status to a University that didn’t have a team until three years ago.

“The NPTE is parliamentary debate’s version of the NCAA basketball tournament,” team director Barry Regan said of the NPTE, scheduled for this March. “It’s incredibly impressive. “

To receive a first-round bid, a team of competitors must be ranked among the top 32 debate partnerships, out of 546 in the nation, by Jan. 1, said Regan, a College of Humanities and Social Sciences instructor.

The achievement is all the more notable because at this time last year, Rotering and Kuykendall were battling to turn losses into wins and self-doubt into self-confidence. They are the only remaining students from the team’s debut year of 2013.

“At one point, I was in Barry’s office talking about the future,” Rotering said. “He said to remember how it felt when you didn’t win and use it during practice and during debate tournaments. I took that to heart.”

They also used last year’s growing pains to study how winning debaters rise above the competition, Kuykendall said. Now, they have become the winners studied by others.

“It didn’t happen overnight, that is for sure,” Kuykendall said. “There were a lot of long hours and long nights.”

Among the competitors the pair looked up to when they were freshmen was Nick Stump, Northern Arizona University’s top debater in 2013 who was ranked No. 4 in the nation. To their delight, Stump now is one of GCU’s coaches and offers a breadth of knowledge. The students are grateful for all the coaches, including Regan and George Talavera and Michael Dvorak.

GCU’s speech and debate team is ranked in the top 20 among 138 schools in that nation that compete in the same debate and speech styles. GCU engages in three different speech events and two types of debate.

Nationally, Kuykendall said about 1 million students are involved in all styles of speech and debate. “It’s really one of the biggest communities that no one knows about,” he said.

In parliamentary debate, one team speaks for the government side and the other for the opposition. Taking turns, competitors speak about a topic that is revealed to them 20 minutes before the contest.

“They speak 300 words a minute on very complex topics,” Regan said.

Because the topic is a surprise, debaters must become familiar with a roster of current events, including recent subjects such as engaging with ISIS, combating global warming, responding to police brutality and race relations in the U.S., Regan said. This adds additional hours to an already work-intensive week that typically includes at least six hours practicing debate and several hours honing speed and enunciation skills, Kuykendall said.

Kuykendall, a marketing major in the Colangelo College of Business from Merced, Calif., was on a mission in Botswana before his freshman year when his father texted him about tryouts for GCU’s speech and debate team.

“I applied from an iPod in Africa on a very poor Internet,” he said. And was offered an audition. “I squeaked in there,” he said. “I consider myself very blessed.”

Rotering, who was raised in Virginia, had some experience in high school with Lincoln-Douglas debate, sometimes referred to as values debate because the format traditionally places a heavy emphasis on logic, ethical values and philosophy. His older brother was also on a debate team, and Rotering looked up to him.

“Speech and debate allows me to interrogate social topics we would never study otherwise,” he said.

For example, he was able to examine the suicide rate among physician’s assistants, a topic that is important to him because he’s studying to be a P.A.

Both students are exceptional at debating military strategy and U.S. hegemony, Regan said, adding that for them to qualify for nationals goes against odds.

“To put in perspective just how rare of an accomplishment this is, no partnership from an Arizona school had earned a first-round bid to the NPTE during the past two years, and only three have accomplished it since 2010,” Regan said. “This puts our team on the national map in a way we’ve never been before.”

Contact Laurie Merrill at (602) 639-6511 or laurie.merrill@gcu.edu.

The post GCU parliamentarians put team on national map appeared first on GCU Today.