Archive for February, 2019

Far from the hospital, the clinics, the spinal taps and chemotherapy treatments, the Children’s Cancer Network family spent a couple of hours at GCU Arena for something a little more fun. Alongside the live-wire Havocs, the families were special guests at the men’s basketball game Wednesday night as they threw out a Lopes Up or two before being introduced on the court. It was a welcome break for the families, who are readying themselves for the ninth annual Children’s Cancer Network Run to Fight Children’s Cancer, headed to campus March 16.

“GCU has so many different entities that are run out of student ideas – they really like to utilize the student body,” said graduate assistant Malcolm McGuire, who championed the idea of employing student fitness instructors at the Lopes Performance Center. “We thought, how can we take our pre-med students or our athletic training students and use them and give them experience so that when they graduate at 22 … maybe they can go and get an entry-level job in the fitness world?” Those student fitness instructors are now leading a series of classes at the LPC, including an introductory fitness class, high-energy dance class and a women’s-only, full-body sculpting class.

Hagir Elsheikh, one of five inductees into the GCU Hall of Fame on Saturday, is a domestic violence activist and TV and radio talk show host in Pennsylvania and has founded a staffing agency and a nonprofit that helps victims of violence. But long before she accomplished any of that, she had to flee the political violence in Sudan and survive domestic violence in her own life. She was an online nursing student before getting her degree in 2012, and she visit campus for the first time Saturday.

The recent Honors College Leadership Conference helped those students build connections with business professionals and better prepare themselves for the future. “I think it was a great opportunity to meet established individuals in the various fields, whether it be business or different markets of leadership, but also meeting other motivated individuals that are students as well,” Honors student Elisha Fronda said.

In this week’s Fitness Facts, Connie Colbert has some important pointers about “natural” foods. Just because the label has “natural” on it, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you. Look for “organic” instead.

In this week’s Mental Health Vitamin, Dr. Deb Wade has an important message about cyberbullying. If you have kids, especially teenagers, you probably know how prevalent it is. Dr. Deb lists the signs that might indicate a child is a victim of this awful trend.

A mid-February trip to New York gave 11 Honors College students the opportunity to meet other young adults from around the world and discuss world issues. They also got to see some of the city’s most iconic destinations. “It was a very incredible experience. It was worth it,” Sara Cordero said. “It was just a really great opportunity to just listen to professionals all over the world and how they all tackle these humanitarian issues.”

Danielle Rinnier is Director of Spiritual Life at GCU, so she is a good source for measuring the amount of spirituality on campus. But she also graduated from the University in 2007, and that makes her perspective that much more valuable. She talked about that perspective in her Chapel talk Monday and then expanded on it in a GCU Today interview later.

Bill Symington, Assistant Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Production, continues to work vigorously on projects outside the University to help build bridges that lead students to jobs in the entertainment industry. Symington has judged for the Kennedy Center, has designed a show for TheaterWorks! and even has helped establish the “Backstage Pass” program with the AriZoni Board of Directors. The program connects students to professionals in the business to help inform them about the business and teach them what employers are looking for.

Collegiate DECA of GCU students were highly successful in two recent competitions. Cristian Rodriguez, only a freshman, won the Collegiate DECA Stock Market Game, and seven GCU students qualified for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) on April 13-16.