Archive for January, 2016

By Laurie Merrill GCU News Bureau  Monday is the start of Shakespeare Week, when GCU’s cup will runneth over with student performances and presentations of some of the Bard of Avon’s most beloved classics spread across campus daily. “Celebrating the greatest writer in the English language in this way is the least we can do for the next generation, who will enjoy and carry on his works,” said Dr. Sherman Elliott, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Monday: 12-12:45 p.m., members of the speech and debate team will read Shakespeare near the southeast corner of the Intramural Field. Tuesday: 10:45–11 a.m., students from the College of Fine Arts and Production (COFAP) will perform scenes from “As You Like It” on the Promenade next to Building 6. 12:45-1 p.m., COFAP students will perform the balcony scene from “Romeo and Juliet” on the Building 57 staircase. Wednesday: 11:15 a.m., Dr. Paul Hartle, fellow/senior tutor from St Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge, will speak to students about Shakespeare at Ethington Theater. 12:30-12:45 p.m., Critical Mass will perform outside Ethington after Hartle’s presentation. 4:15-5:15 p.m., Hartle will present “Shakespeare Mashups — Adapting Shakespeare for Today’s Young Audience” in Building 16, Room 401. Thursday: 12:45-1 p.m., COFAP students […]

This week’s Antelope Intros feature two family-oriented guys with interesting passions. One brings new meaning to “Some like it hot,” and the other has shown that he’s always willing to go the extra mile.

Amanda Hughens, GCU’s K-12 STEM outreach manager, is a blur of positive energy who wears more proverbial hats than a millinery’s models and whose resume is rife with adventurous as well as academic accomplishments. In her new role, the former teacher, writer, and underwater search and rescue diver spreads love of STEM among teachers and students of all ages. GCU Today has the story.

Story by Janie Magruder Photos by Darryl Webb GCU News Bureau Emma Kerr is the picture of true grit. Not the boot-wearin’, horse-ridin’, gun-totin’ kind you see in old Westerns, but the quiet brand of courage and determination that has a large community of family and friends, including a Grammy-winning artist, rootin’ as she fights for her life. Emma was diagnosed 14 months ago with leukemia, and it’s been a rough road. The 11-year-old Phoenix girl missed 81 days of fifth grade last year for cancer treatments and resulting infections. Last Thursday, she was released from Phoenix Children’s Hospital (PCH) after spending 55 days there, including 11 days in intensive care when a persistent fever spiked to almost 105 degrees. Besides pneumonia, Emma also had contracted Valley fever, which had settled in her shoulder, hips and knees and required surgery to remove an abscess and fix the fever. 6th Annual GCU Foundation Run to Fight Children’s Cancer What: A 10K run, 5K run and cancer survivors walk to raise awareness of pediatric cancer and funds for Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Children’s Cancer Network. When: 7 a.m.-noon, Saturday, March 12 Where: On and around GCU’s main campus, 3300 W. Camelback Road, Phoenix […]

The Gospel of Luke has more parables than any other book in the Bible, and Dustin Tappan of Christ’s Church of the Valley used the three in Chapter 15 — and two of his own experiences — Monday at Chapel to make his point about making sure you’re searching for the right things in your life. But don’t stop there, Tappan told his audience. Your mission also is to help God reach the missing.

By Jeannette Cruz GCU News Bureau Like most college students, Cody Dumas arrived at Grand Canyon University eager to take on a new experience. But as college life, family life and work sunk in, so did stress. By his junior year, Dumas was having trouble sleeping. Although hesitant to get on-site help because of his negative perception of counseling, his experience eventually contributed to a new initiative on campus to reduce the stigma of mental illness. “We all have issues that we are facing,” said Dumas, president of Associated Students of GCU, the University’s student government. “I have never struggled with depression or major anxiety, but it was identified that I wasn’t sleeping due to stress that I had been building up in my life from being a student and growing up. At the time, I was really against seeing a counselor mainly because of the stigma that revolves around it — things like seeing a counselor means there’s something ‘wrong’ with you.” Dumas’ experience inspired him and ASGCU to organize “Embrace,” a week of awareness and understanding of mental health issues. The activities begin today and are open to students and staff. “When I realized that I was struggling […]

What would you have to change about yourself in the workplace if your employer was God? You might need to pray more often for the ability to do what’s right, to be more forgiving and do walk humbly, and you might do a “heart check” to ensure we are loving and serving others. That was the message at Friday’s Integration of Faith, Learning and Work “Lunch and Learn” faculty program, entitled, “Work That Honors God.”

This week’s Antelope Intros feature two Peoria enrollment counselors who have somewhat unusual sports backgrounds, grew up far from the Valley in places where winter is serious business, and have had some life-changing experiences in other countries. The passion of these two guys is as deep as the snowstorms they endured as kids.

By Janie Magruder GCU News Bureau Patricia Brazil and her daughter Michelle had lived together in a house on Camelback Road for 45 years, from the day mother brought daughter home from the hospital as a newborn. Their aging home needed a paint job and new windows to improve its insulation from summer’s sear and winter’s chill and to block noisy street traffic. So it was nothing short of a blessing when, in the fall of 2014, a team from Habitat for Humanity and Grand Canyon University dropped by the Brazils’ home to discuss a new neighborhood revitalization program that would assist homeowners in gussying up their property. The women loved meeting the friendly, purple T-shirted students who attended classes right across the street and decided right then to take advantage of the offer of help. They would use their income tax refund to pay their share of the project and pitch in on the sweat equity, too. Patricia, who died two months later, never got to see the shiny new windows or the warm sandstone paint her daughter chose. But Michelle, who lives in the three-bedroom house with her 6-year-old son, Nathaniel, feels that her mother would approve. “I hope she’s […]

Students in the Colangelo College of Business got to hear from another plugged-in speaker Wednesday night, and this one gave them a global view of the new world of pro sports. Boris Diaw, who used to play for the Phoenix Suns and now is with the San Antonio Spurs, showed how he used basketball to create his brand.