Academics

Adding lines of prose to a community story about Spongebob escaping a unicorn and a herd of fleas amid a green sea was one of the activities offered Friday during GCU’s celebration of the National Day on Writing. The activities, stressing written expression, were a big hit with passersby.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is celebrating the National Day on Writing from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday on the Promenade. Faculty, students and staff are invited to participate in creative writing activities, including describing themselves in six-word autobiographies.

Nothing’s impossible when people work hard, have access to the appropriate resources and have faith in the outcome. This is the story behind the Mission Possible Café, formerly an empty eyesore near the Phoenix Rescue Mission. GCU was instrumental in launching the Mexican restaurant, and three students from the Colangelo College of Business’s Hospitality Management program are the supervisors.

Mike “Big Dog” Abell entered GCU Arena for fall commencement, not with a graduation cap, but with his signature cowboy hat. Abell, a fixture at the University, earned his master’s degree in professional counseling — something that will help him in his work counseling visually impaired clients at Family Ministry Counseling and Psychotherapy Services. Abell, himself, is blind.

Graduates juggle raising children and balancing jobs with their studies. GCU Today talked to several graduates about the road to receiving their degrees during fall commencement Friday.

One entrepreneur is thinking of starting a shoe-customization business. Another already sells high-end, custom-made bullwhips. Still others have started their own nonprofit. The kicker? They’re all just teenagers and were on campus Thursday to participate in a collaborative training between GCU’s New Business Development Center and Strategic Educational Alliances.

GCU’s Speech and Debate team began the academic year with excellent performances in the Aztec Invitational Tournament in San Diego over the weekend. The team ranked in the top eight out of 31 universities and colleges and hopes to do even better in its next event, in early November at Cal State Northridge.

Educators are still teaching as if they’re in the industrial age, said Kathryn Scott, Executive Director of Strategic Educational Alliances. But as the internet and other types of technology change the face of learning, teachers have to evolve — something they’re doing as part of the Canyon Inquiry Project, a yearlong professional development project for teams of educators from 10 high schools. Author Trevor MacKenzie, an advocate of inquiry-based learning, was on the GCU campus recently to kick of the workshop series.

With the recent Equifax data breach putting the identities of 143 million people at risk, it’s apparent that the need is high for a strong cybersecurity workforce. A panel of experts gathered Wednesday on the GCU campus to share how they got into the cybersecurity field and give advice on how to do the same.

More than 4 million science and tech jobs are available in the United States. Still, only one in four schools in Arizona offers a computer science curriculum. Grand Canyon University and Science Foundation Arizona are hoping to change that and are getting help from a $100,000 donation from Verizon for Code.org training for teachers.