Archive for September, 2018

Dr. Randall Downs, the new coordinator of the Center for Worship Arts, had an idea after he heard the Canyon Worship 2018 album: Why not have the student artists perform their songs out in the community? They’ll do exactly that on Tuesday, Oct. 16, at Harvest Bible Chapel West Valley in Peoria. “With all the talent these students have, we love seeing that displayed,” he said.

Rice University synthetic organic chemist Dr. James Tour’s research spans from nanomachines that can drill into cells, such as cancer cells and super bacteria, and kill them, to graphene nanoribbons used in spinal cord repair. But his College of Science, Engineering and Technology One Foundation talk on Friday also focused on his faith and how it has played the biggest role in his life and his scientific success.

Grand Canyon University employees are top of the class. Community Outreach Manager Debbie Accomazzo knows this, and it’s why she didn’t panic when Habitat volunteering was low a couple of weeks ago. All she had to do was put out one call, and nearly 60 volunteers answered. On Friday, 25 of those trustworthy employees were at a house on 43rd Avenue. It was GCU’s second trip to the home, where employees helped with putting a new roof on the first time and painted this time.

When Zach Williams’ wife asked him to get involved in prison ministry, he told her it wasn’t his thing. But after his first visit to a prison, where he and his wife shared their story, he felt a shift in his life, and he started to write the songs he knew he was meant to write. The Grammy-winner recently released his six-song EP, “Survivor,” which he recorded live in Nashville’s Harding Prison, and will share some of those songs at GCU Arena, where he will perform on Wednesday as part of the Air1 Positive Hits Tour.

There are times when all someone needs is a little helping hand. That’s the case for Fernanda Munoz, a senor nursing student at GCU and a single mother of two. The nonprofit organization Helping Hands for Single Moms has taken Munoz under its wing, providing her with a scholarship to get her degree and additional services to make her dreams a reality. Munoz says her children are the driving force behind her education: “My daughter, she is so little, and she is so proud of me.”

Grand Canyon University continues to be asked why it does not participate in the U.S. News & World Report college rankings, which came out this month. President Brian Mueller issued a statement explaining the University’s decision: GCU believes that the rankings do not measure things that are important to the learning outcomes of students.

Memorization drills, current events quizzes, mock debates and daily reading throughout the summer boosted Grand Canyon University’s Matthew Calderwood and Grace Laidlaw to a 10th-place finish in the Georgia B. Bowman Invitational last weekend at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo. The pair argued successfully about drone use and germ modification.

In this week’s Fitness Facts, Connie Colbert delves into the new revolution — the More Matters revolution. More of what? Why, fruits and vegetables, of course. It’s positively revolutionary.

The Honors College mentorship program kicked off last week with an event where freshmen went from “Uh, wow. College,” to, “I am not on my own.” The college’s FLIGHT program pairs freshmen with upperclassmen who have gone down a path similar to the one they have in mind. Teresita Figueroa, a senior pre-med major who for the past seven years has volunteered at a hospital, took freshman pre-med major Hadassah Gates under her wing.

In this week’s Mental Health Vitamin, Dr. Deb Wade has some clear thoughts about static — the “roommate” that takes residence in our brain and can cause all sorts of problems.