Archive for January, 2022

Photos by Ralph Freso GCU News Bureau Nearly 5,000 ballots were cast last week in the Associated Students of GCU election to choose the student government leaders for 2022-23. Camden Marasco was elected president and Tyson Cantrell vice president. They campaigned against George Munguia and Maddie Landes.

Pledges are still coming in strong for Allocate to Elevate, the workplace-giving program for GCU and GCE employees. They are eyeing a $3.4 million pledge goal for the initiative, funded through the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit and Public School Credit. Employees who have pledged are taking the next step in the process as they prepare to file their taxes and claim their credit, and employees who haven’t diverted their tax dollars to Habitat, School Choice Arizona or public school extracurricular programs still have time to help the Allocate team reach that lofty pledge goal.

GCU and Habitat for Humanity are about to reach yet another important milestone. Since the collaboration began seven years ago to restore homes in the Canyon Corridor, the west Phoenix community partners are nearing 1,000 repairs for 400 families. And that partnership has come back strong this year after GCU and Habitat paused repair projects during the pandemic. The initiative will be celebrated Thursday, Habitat Night, at the men’s basketball game.

The entertainment industry can be an intimidating place, But luckily for COFAP students, the college hosted a Q+A session with “Identity Crisis” actress Laura Leigh Turner to learn more about what to expect after college. From the importance of of finding a Christian community to the patience that comes with navigating through auditions, Turner shared her journey with attendees. “This is exactly the kind of experiences that we want our students to have,” COFAP Dean Dr. Craig Detweiler said. “To have working professionals coming to campus, showing students how it’s done and sharing how their faith inspires their art.”

When the situation in Arizona schools gets tough, GCU students and graduates come to the rescue. The latest example arose when the lingering pandemic and ongoing teacher shortages left a system lacking enough substitute teachers. College of Education Assistant Professor Claudia Coleman quickly worked with Phoenix school districts on an initiative to get GCU junior teacher candidates certified as subs and trained to fill a need so dire that the state board on Monday expanded its certificate eligibility. Nineteen GCU students are already in classrooms with more to come. “I’ve learned more from a couple days of subbing than in all of my practicum,” GCU junior Hailey Pawley said.

Honors College Associate Dean Dr. Breanna Naegeli recently connected GCU’s forensic psychology students to her younger sister, 2018 psychology graduate Bianca Boling. Students had the opportunity to ask Boling, a doctoral student at Midwestern University, the ins and outs of the field. “I think these opportunities for current Honors students to engage with, and seek mentorship and insight, from alumni currently the field is invaluable,” Naegeli said. “It is abundantly evident that the students appreciate the opportunity to form this relationship and to ask questions. It helps to complement what they hear in the classroom setting from faculty and staff as well.”

Photos by Ralph Freso GCU News Bureau Grand Canyon University students gathered Wednesday night for the popular Trivia Night.      

Ethington Theatre’s walls reverberated with movie magic the past few weeks as students and faculty created props for the Boylan sisters’ movie, “Identity Crisis,” while it was being filmed on campus. From portable dressing rooms and prop walls to the cloning machine used by the main character in the film, there is no shortage of GCU talent set to grace the screen. “The opportunity for college students to get involved with a Hollywood and national-level film is not something that comes up every day, to say the least,” said COFAP Assistant Dean of Theatre and Dance and “Identity Crisis” Art Director William Symington.

Photos by Ralph Freso GCU News Bureau Grand Canyon University students gathered Tuesday to celebrate the culture of India at “Namaste, India.” The Canyon Activities Board event featured music, food and the opportunity to get a henna tattoo.  

Photos by Ralph Freso GCU News Bureau The two teams running for president and vice president of the Associated Students of GCU – Camden Marasco and Tyson Cantrell, and George Munguia and Maddie Landes – shared their ideas with students at a Meet the Candidates event Monday in Ethington Theatre. Voting began Wednesday. Here’s the story.