2 8 • GCU TODAY
Catherine Brubaker, ’07
Catherine Brubaker is
a two-time traumatic
brain-injury survivor
who has taken life by the
handlebars.
In 2010, Brubaker
was assaulted, leaving
her with a brain injury
that also affected her
heart, necessitating a
pacemaker. Upon being
discharged from the
hospital, she was involved
in a head-on collision and
sustained a second injury
to her brain.
Three years after
her accident, Brubaker was determined to take her life back. She
purchased a recumbent tricycle andmet Dan Zimmerman, a stroke
survivor who was riding the same model. They realized they were
riding for the same purpose — freedom.
Zimmerman gave Brubaker his card, and on the back was a
U.S. map with a red line fromAnacortes, Wash., to Key West, Fla.
Zimmerman was doing a cross-country bike ride to raise hope and
awareness about cycling’s ability to help brain-injury survivors
recover and regain their strength.
Brubaker, of Tempe, Ariz., later called Zimmerman. She said,
“I’m in. I want to do this ride.” She had six weeks to train and raise
$10,000, which she accomplished with Zimmerman’s help and that
of the community.
Along with four other cyclists, Brubaker completed the five-
month, 5,390-mile ride, “Spokes Fighting Strokes,” on Nov. 29, 2014.
“That ride changedmy life,” said the GCU alumna, who has a master’s
degree in leadership.
The journey inspired Brubaker, 44, inmany ways. She started a
nonprofit, Hope for Trauma, to raise hope for brain-injury survivors.
Her goal is to purchase recumbent tricycles for survivors and teach
them to ride safely.
— PAIGE GRUNER
TODONATE OR LEARNMORE about Brubaker’s organization,
visi
r connect with her at
SPOTLIGHT ON
clinical skills, strong patient care
and compassion.
WilliamAligood,
M.Ed. in Curriculum
and Instruction:
Technology, ’11,
is a fifth-grade
teacher at Plumb Elementary
in Clearwater, Fla. Aligood was
one of 10 finalists for the 2015
Outstanding Educator of the Year
in Pinellas County Schools.
Christine Grabar,
B.S. in Applied
Management, ’11,
wrote a book, “The
Romantic Cat Lady,”
the story of a single woman who
moves with her two cats from
Phoenix to start a new life in
North Carolina.
Jessica
Richardson, M.Ed.
in Education
Administration, ’11,
is principal of Ocean
Palms Elementary in Ponte Vedra
Beach, Fla., and a newmember
of the board of directors of the
Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra
Beach. Richardson is a former
assistant principal at Cunningham
Creek Elementary in St. Johns, Fla.
SylviaMiller,
M.Ed. in Education
Administration, ’12,
was named a 2015
Rodel Exemplary
Teacher. Miller is a fifth-grade
teacher at Western Valley
Elementary in Phoenix and has
11 years of teaching experience.
She is a site leader for the fifth-
grade team and is a member of the
Academic Parent Teacher Team.
LeAnnMoore, M.S.
in Accounting,
’12,
joined the
accounting staff at
Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk & Loyd,
LLC, in McPherson, Kan. Before
joining SJHL, Moore worked in
accounting at Central Christian
College of Kansas in McPherson.
Trish Anderson,
M.Ed. in
Educational
Administration,
’13,
is a program
manager of student development
and outreach at GCU. Anderson
is a former learning coordinator
in the Tucson (Ariz.) Unified
School District. She is working
on a doctorate in educational
leadership at GCU.
Margot Brisky, B.S.
in Psychology, ’13,
has started a life
coaching practice
called discoverHer,
a faith-based organization that
offers girls and young women
from ages 8 to 18 the opportunity
to develop their personal and
spiritual identities.
Emmanuella
Charles, M.Ed. in
Early Childhood
Education, ’13,
founder of Little
Charlie’s Academy, a Philadelphia
day care center, wrote “The
Motherless Child.” The memoir is
about her childhood in Port-au-
Prince, Haiti, where she grew up
thinking her grandmother was
her mother, and how God helped
her through the hardships.
Kelly Frey, B.S. in
Nursing, ’13,
is a
nurse specializing
in medical and
surgical nursing
and palliative care at Riverside
Medical Center in Kankakee,
Ill. The Worldwide Leaders in
Healthcare and the International
Nurses Association recently
GCU
Alumni
