Alumni

There was no shortage of Christmas spirit at Andre’s House of Hospitality when Tim Haas and a group of GCU clarinet students and alumni performed a set of Christmas music for the homeless while they ate dinner Sunday evening. “When you get students that do these kinds of things, nothing’s better than that,” Haas said. “They touched people’s lives on Sunday night, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

University development manager Sarah Wade is a GCU graduate and is working on her doctorate. Her daughter went to GCU and now teaches at a Southern California high school that has several other GCU connections. “I feel like I can’t go anywhere without somebody knowing somebody who is on campus at GCU,” Wade said.

What started as a preceptorship would eventually grow into an unbreakable friendship and an opportunity for both Dr. Viola Pierce and Dr. Brittany Bass to graduate with their Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees together at Grand Canyon University’s Fall Commencement ceremony. The pair started the program together and graduated together, surrounded by each of their families. “We went through the entire program together, so this is special for us and I love her dearly,” Pierce said.

Lynette Stant became the first Native American woman to be named Arizona Teacher of the Year Thursday at Arizona Educational Foundation ceremonies in Phoenix. Stant earned her Master’s of Arts in Teaching at GCU in 2006. She stressed being a role model for Native America children and bringing equitable education to rural parts of the state. GCU alums dominated the top 10 in the contest. Three of the five semifinalists are also GCU alums.

Halloween is right around the corner, which means it’s the perfect time to get in the spirit with “The Addams Family” at the Christian Youth Theater, where a group of GCU alumni are doing the creative and technical work. Alexandra Biggs called CYT “a natural fit” for all the GCU alumni and added, “I think that CYT’s mission aligns really well with GCU, and it’s nice to be working for a company that is kind of a ministry opportunity for alumni as well.”

It’s been two years since the College of Doctoral Studies celebrated the passing of signing it’s 500th dissertation. Now, thanks to the college’s dedication to its learners success, quality faculty and resources, 1,000 dissertations have been signed and another group of doctoral graduates walked across the stage and receive recognition for their academic achievement at last week’s Online Commencement ceremony Friday morning. “The program has been maturing in a lot of ways. We’ve been maturing in how we work with learner, how we set expectations with learners, the strategies that are the most effective. I think we’re getting a better understanding of who our learners are and how we can help them be successful. Because that’s always goal,” College of Doctoral Studies Dean Dr. Michael Berger said. “It’s a major step up in expert and interpersonal power. It’s going to give them a chance to be heard, and we want them out there making change.”

For Jamaica native and now North Carolina resident Garfield Hyman, getting his bachelor’s degree in Applied Management always has been about making his journey worthwhile. He said his GCU instructors helped him on his online journey: “I found support, making the experience a really good one.”

It was an emotional day when GCU alumna Samantha Bedore started her first day of a residency in physical therapy at HonorHealth in Scottsdale. She had walked through those same doors to see her grandfather, who was dying. Now she was there to help others. “I just hope I can give people the care that my grandpa received,” said Bedore, an Army veteran who shares more than one trauma that led to her purpose.

Women can be leaders too, if they set their mind to it. That is why Miss Arizona and Honors College Alumna Jacqueline Thomas’ LLC and blog Lady Leaders partnered with GCU’s Honors college to host the Empowering Female Leaders Panel. Thomas brought several strong GCU women in leadership positions, such as the College of Nursing and Health Care professions Dean Dr. Lisa Smith, Executive Vice President of GCU Sarah Boeder and Vice President of Faculty Operations Kelly Palese, to help empower young women on campus to unlock their leadership potential. “Lady Leaders is committed to providing tangible resources, tools and mentors for women,” Thomas said. “Now that I have been blessed with this network and resources, I want to be able to give it back. That’s the soul purpose for these lady leader panels.”

Eight-year-old Shiann Sloan has been through a lot in her young life. She was born with a birth defect in which organs from her abdomen were formed outside her body, she has chronic lung disease and has a hole in her heart. She also is partially deaf and so music therapy has become a big part of her life. Shiann got the surprise of her life when she had the chance to meet Daigle at her recent concert at GCU Arena, thanks to GCU alumna Kelly Schindler and her work with HopeKids Arizona.