opportunities for them. If they wanted a career in
the arts after graduation and were willing to roll
up their sleeves, they could have one. At least, they
would be prepared well for one.
Along the way to their April commencement,
the student pioneers of 2010 sold out Ethington
Theatre for plays, packed First Southern Baptist
Church for Christmas concerts, and helped turn
Thunderground into a hip venue for improv
comedy and dance. They landed choice film
internships. They bounced around campus
for rehearsal and studio space, never having a
permanent home but rarely complaining.
They did it all.
“The leadership and faculty built this, but we all
grew it,” Pensis says. “These students will forever
hold a place inmy heart. Four years ago, this is
where I hoped we would be.”
Symington, who arrived fromArizona State
University inmid-2010 to an Ethington shop that
had a broken sink and was barren of tools, says the
Class of 2014 demonstrated work ethic from the
start, eager to create something great.
“I can’t believe four years has gone by,” he says.
“I look back at the volume and quality of work, and
I’m proud of it. I’m also exhausted. But isn’t that a
sign that you’re doing everything you can do?”
Kary notes that the class functioned like
seniors all along, leading for their entire time in
the program.
“They made it through Angel and LoudCloud
and brand-new classes,” he says. “They endured a
lot. They were like a Petri dish.”
We asked the college’s faculty to come up
with four seniors — one each from theatre,
music, dance and digital film— who represent
the best of the best from the class of 55 students.
None could be transfer students; all needed to
have spent a full four years at GCU.
Here they are:
AdamBenavides, theatre
With his song-and-dance performance as a
freshman in “The Frogs,” a musical that was staged
in the campus swimming pool, Benavides served
notice that he would be one to watch. And he was,
nailing lead roles in several Ethington productions,
including “The Cherry Orchard,” “Twelfth Night”
and “Into theWoods.”
During his senior year of high school in
Queen Creek, GCU wasn’t on his radar. In
fact, he wasn’t even sure where the school
was located when he was spotted at a Phoenix
thespian conference by Pensis, who was sold on
the spot by Benavides’ audition.
The scholarships being offered by GCUwere
attractive, but the opportunity was evenmore so.
“There was excitement that (the arts program)
was being revitalized,” Benavides says. “There was
a clean slate.”
For his first two years, he also served as president
of Alpha Psi Omega (GCU’s chapter of the national
theatre honor society) and sang in choir. Then
he droppedmusic in favor of film, becoming the
college’s first theatre/filmdoublemajor. He’s not
sure which he will pursue as a career.
“I was raised in a family that encouraged you to
do what you really wanted to do,” Benavides says.
“I’m glad I seized so many opportunities here.”
Natalie Shuler, music
Although Shuler applied to Northern Arizona
University and had scholarship money awaiting
her there, GCU held an edge because of Sheila
Corley, fromwhom Shuler took private voice
lessons in high school. The two even attended the
same local church.
“I was super excited to study with her,” Shuler
says. “She has a kind heart, and it’s more than
being nice. She’s honest and encouraging. When
she invests in you, it’s the greatest feeling.
“She doesn’t just care about your voice. She
cares about your life. She’s been such a blessing
to me.”
Shuler’s beautiful soprano was a highlight of
the musical “H.M.S. Pinafore” in 2013, and her
senior recital included an aria from Puccini’s
“La Bohème.”
She says it’s not enough at the college level
to love to sing.
“Music is just so hard,” she says. “It’s
surprisingly difficult. The terminology is like
nursing. You learn other languages. I read recently
that law schools often accept music majors because
they know it’s such a hard degree.”
Shuler says she plans to enroll in a graduate
music program at the University of California at
Northridge, where she already has been accepted.
Samantha Erdmann, digital film
What’s a high school golfer to do when the
college coach doesn’t have a spot?
Erdmann had expected to play golf at GCU
after finishing 15th in the state as a senior at
Millennium High School. When that door
closed to her, another one opened in a film
program that was so new its courses weren’t
even in the computer system when she started.
“I wanted a small-school experience and to
be able to mess with cameras from day one,”
says Erdmann, who started her messing as a
12-year-old with a Pentax camera from her
grandfather. By 14, she was shooting videos.
Erdmann already has several post-
graduation opportunities from which to
choose, including work with the Arizona
Cardinals and with a company in Tempe that
does corporate films.
“It went pretty darn awesome,” she says of
her time at GCU, crediting Gregg Elder with
“pushing us out there to make great films and
pursue our love of it.”
Ashley Brown, dance
It’s a good thing Brown reads her mail. Living
in Los Angeles, she was undecided about her
college plans until a postcard arrived fromGCU,
mentioning dance education.
She had come to dance relatively late, as a high
school freshman, after initially thinking she would
be an English teacher. And she knew she didn’t
want the insecurity of a performing career.
“You could get injured and that’s it, it’s over,”
she says.
With only a half-dozen dance majors at the
start, Brown buckled down at GCU.
“We were the first of everything,” she says.
“It was tough because we had to do everything
ourselves…As a senior, seeing the others (in the
program) grow is what will stick withme the most.
It makes me happy to see that those behind me
have a good foundation.”
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