Alumni

Editor’s note: This story is reprinted from the August 2019 issue of GCU Magazine. To view the digital version, click here.  By Ashlee Larrison GCU Magazine When Karsten Kem first came to Grand Canyon University as a freshman, he had one thing in mind: He wanted to get involved. “I dove right into campus,” he said. “I was so excited to come here.” He didn’t waste any time following through on that goal. He worked on the intramural staff. He became a Resident Assistant. He joined the Havocs, GCU’s nationally acclaimed student cheer section, and eventually was named president of the group before graduating in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics. The Cave Creek, Ariz., native then transitioned from student to full-time employee, and this year he was named Alumni Relations and Engagement Manager. Again, he’s not wasting any time pursuing his goal: He wants other alumni to remain engaged with their alma mater, too. “The community aspect of GCU is just so big, and that’s why I ultimately wanted to end up working here,” he said. The hiring of such a high-profile graduate has brought to the Alumni office his knowledge of the campus, his love […]

Editor’s note: This story is reprinted from the August 2019 issue of GCU Magazine. To view the digital version, click here.  By Ashlee Larrison GCU Magazine GCU’s Office of Alumni Relations is working to make graduates new and old feel connected to their alma mater, no matter where they live. There are GCU alumni chapters in Phoenix, Houston and Seattle, and another one is in the works for Las Vegas. Each chapter is independently led and operated. The only requirements are to have a minimum of four events and report back to Alumni Relations and Engagement Manager Karsten Kem and his team. “It’s a really exciting way to connect,” Kem said. Another way for out-of-state alumni to connect is Lopes on the Road, featured at selected away games involving GCU teams. LOTR sites in 2019-20 include Saint Mary’s (Moraga, Calif.), UC Riverside, Cal Baptist (also in Riverside, Calif.), New Mexico and Portland, to name just a few. Back in Phoenix, Alumni Weekend on Sept. 27-28 will include a game at GCU Stadium featuring former GCU soccer players and plenty of other alumni festivities, including a group outing at the GCU men’s soccer match against Incarnate Word. Members of the alumni […]

Alicia Burns, Director of Operations for Grand Canyon Education, is a frequent GCU volunteer. Commencement is her favorite, but she also loves Welcome Week, Habitat for Humanity and any other community outreach.

The highlight of the GCU summer was Joseph Allen winning the Golden Buzzer on “America’s Got Talent.” But he also was a standout performer while on campus. Catch Allen on “AGT” as the second week of the live shows gear up.

Jazz preservation, That’s what Dance Director Susannah Keita and the rest of GCU’s Dance department hope to accomplish by putting such a strong emphasis on jazz dance within their program. Few Dance programs offer jazz dance to their students, making GCU’s dance program a unique and sought after program for students looking to study jazz dance. Recently Keita was even able to present at the National Dance Education Organization’s jazz conference this summer. “We want our dancers to be prepared for the commercial dance world and the concert dance world,” Keita said. “Jazz can be in either.”

College of Fine Arts and Production graduates Klay Wandelear and Brenna Warren both earned a master’s degree this summer from East 15, a branch of Essex University, and enjoyed the experience so much, they’re staying in England for the time being. They said their time at GCU prepared them well. “I think I would have had a really hard time if I hadn’t spent so much time in Ethington Theatre,” Warren said. “How it worked set me up to be a dedicated and respectful actor.”

Jacqueline Thomas competed in the Miss Arizona competition regularly during her time at GCU, finishing second in 2018, and now she has taken the next step. She won the title last weekend and will represent Arizona as she vies for the Miss America title. She credits GCU’s Honors College for helping her succeed. “Everything that I did once I joined the Honors College, from internships to jobs to other extra-curricular activities or opportunities within the Miss Arizona organization, was all because of the foundation that the Honors College laid out for me,” she said.

When his daughters Mackenzie and Madison headed to school for a new year, Kevin Scruggs knew that someday he would want to see those moments again. So he filmed his daughters on those first days of school, every year — and they’ve gone viral. The videos, put together in time-lapse montages, have been viewed by more than 100 million people. “You get tears. There is a lot wrapped up in that video,” said Scruggs of his latest video of younger daughter Madison, who is an incoming freshman at GCU (Mackenzie graduated from GCU in April). “As a dad, you get to see her life play out in a minute.”

There is very little known about the mysterious “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” that has formed and continued to grow every year, but two GCU alum’s and their fellow expedition boat crew are determined to show the world what is really going on in the ocean. COFAP Graduates Joshua Munoz (class of 2015) and Corbin Marshall (Class of 2016) have both found homes in Hawaii since graduating, and will be embarking on a journey with several scientist, French-born long-distance swimmer Ben Lecomte and several others on what they are calling “The Vortex Swim” starting Tomorrow and continuing until September. Lecomte will be swimming for eight hours a day for 100 days to make up a total of 300 nautical miles, all while his crew collects data, tracks plastic movement and studies the effects of the plastic on surrounding ocean life. Munoz and Marshall will be aboard documenting the whole expedition via photography and videography, all while also taking shifts manning the helm and assisting with data collecting. Links to follow the journey of Munoz, Marshall and the rest of the crew throughout the process will be located within the story.

It seemed like only a matter of time before L.E. “Sharky” Baker would add Grand Canyon University Hall of Fame inductee to his long list of accomplishments. He graduated from GCU back in 1956 with a degree in Physical Education and Social Studies and went on to not only be a teacher/coach for several high schools but also a principal, Payson Unified school district superintendent, the president of GCU’s alumni association and scholarship foundation, and a regular at GCU sports events. “He loves the University,” said his wife, Leona. “He said, ‘I am what I am today because of GCU.’”