Archive for September, 2016

This week’s edition of Antelope Intros features a University counselor who enjoys hiking and going on mission trips. The other is a videographer who is big on CrossFit and romance. Both have a special place for their families.

The Lopes Performance Center has more options than ever for students and staff, and the building soon will be expanded to make room for more workout areas and sports medicine equipment for student-athletes plus a Gatorade Fueling Station to aid in their hydration and nutrition. A new workout room on the second floor is reserved for students and staff, and the six boot camps a week have the room all to themselves. It’s all about creating community — in this case a fitness community.

Hundreds of students, faculty and staff will team up and fan out into the community Saturday to take part in Serve the City, a semi-annual event to repair the neighborhoods that surround GCU. “Through this event volunteers are not only serving the community, but they’re also showing the true love of God to the community to make one large impact,” said Cassandra Jarles, assistant director of resource development and faith relations for Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona. “There is definitely a lot of purple and many smiles until the moment leading up to the transformation.”

Larry Hinkle, a former United States Marine, stopped by campus Wednesday during the cross-country walk he’s doing to raise money and awareness for fellow veterans. He was extremely impressed by GCU’s Veterans Center. “My eyes have been opened here. I never knew this type of place existed,” he said while visiting with students.

This is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and a special Run to Fight Night at the GCU men’s soccer game Friday will launch the seventh annual Run to Fight Children’s Cancer. “It just makes sense that our soccer season would begin during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month,” said Debbie Accomazzo, race director and community outreach manager for GCU. “We want to increase our number of participants, volunteers, sponsors and champions.”

A new program in the Honors College will equip 100 ambitious students with basic project management skills and offer an opportunity to execute GCU-sponsored research projects as part of a 10-week Project Management Fellowship. For freshmen Jordan Montgomery and Anthony Novoa, the program is an opportunity to execute their own idea for a GCU on-demand food-delivery platform. “We want to bring students and faculty together and continue finding a ways to set them up with opportunities that are going to be beneficial to them,” said Breanna Naegeli, assistant dean at the Honors College.

The semifinal series between the Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx — who each have won the WNBA championship three times — starts Wednesday in Minnesota. If the best-of-five series extends to a Game 4, it will be on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at GCU Arena. Hosting a WNBA playoff game is a win for GCU, whose facilities — and Thundering Heard Pep Band, which was invited to play — would give the University national exposure on ESPN2.

Ron Merrell uses a comedic and delightfully quirky tone to get across his message, and Monday at Chapel he also used a ladder to tell the story of Jonah. Merrell’s passion for Jesus Christ resonated as he urged his listeners to love each other and love themselves as they keep trying to climb the ladder of life.

GCU has taken a starring role in a new science, technology, engineering and math initiative geared to training K-12 teachers to better prepare Arizona students for computer science and information technology careers.

When her daughter was bullied several years ago, GCU counselor Kristan Farley was looking for a way to help. Some advice from Farley’s sister inspired her to write and self-publish “What’s True about You?”, a book designed to help children shun negative messages. A Christian publishing house was so impressed, it’s republishing it next spring.