ASGCU

Darion Padilla and Ben Claypool were speechless when they found out the results of the record-setting election, when the pair became leaders of the Associated Students of GCU. But they aren’t tongue-tied in sharing their goals for the organization which represents students. Chief among them is improved communication.

Students volunteers had the chance to roll up their sleeves Wednesday for the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program distribution event at the 27th Avenue complex, an event hosted by GCU in partnership with CityServe International. About 165 students loaded and delivered more than 1,050 boxes of food prepared by Shamrock Farms, each weighing about 30 pounds and filled with everything from meat to bags of apples and carrots, cheese, milk and more. The boxes went to more than 20 community service organizations and churches, which then distributed those boxes to families in need. It was just the first event in an even bigger project with CityServe in which the University would be the Arizona distribution hub for products that will go to needy families.

While quarantining in New York during the height of the pandemic, Associated Students of GCU President Dylan Mahoney said it was easy to look out at the world, see nothing but death and destruction, and grow pessimistic about the school year. But he now knows that God is using this time to isolate His children, teach them and strengthen them for the road ahead.

The idea was lodged in the mind of senior Sam Yonan long before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the world: GCU should have a cross to represent who we are as a Christian university. The project moved forward even during the health crisis as three crosses were assembled in a shop on campus this week. Their message of hope for the future resonated even more.

GCU’s first student director of sustainability has a lot of good ideas for students to help make the campus better during Green Week. Just don’t expect Austin Rockwell to get on his high horse. He prefers to say, “It is very much our responsibility to steward what God has given us …”

GCU students pledged to stop sexual assaults during It’s On Us week-long awareness campaign. The national organization that leads the event on campuses across the country reports that 11.2 percent of all college students have been raped or assaulted. “So we are trying to motivate students to intervene when they have a chance to,” said Josue Olivas, Associated Students Program Coordinator at GCU.

ASGCU President Sam Yonan and his student government team have been busy already this year, working to improve campus shuttle routes and organizing events to encourage recycling and raise awareness about harassment. “We want to keep an open ear to students on anything they need to be changed,” Yonan said. “We do represent students.”

The international and out of state student social brought together students from far away or far, far away and made them feel a little more at home at GCU. “The time that they get to spend here, whether it’s four years, whether it’s two years, we want them to cherish the memories, we want them to cherish the friends and the moments that they make here,” ASGCU President Samuel Yonan said. “I hope that they take away that they’re welcomed here, that we’re excited to have them here, that we want to make this the best opportunity of their life.”

There’s a reason GCU’s signature event, Move-In, runs smoothly. Event Services, Student Affairs, Residence Life and other teams work hard to make it the most memorable experience possible for first-time Lopes, and they often do it from behind the scenes … and with Uncrustables at the ready.

Students and faculty made their way to the Colangelo College of Business lobby Friday to watch the inauguration of ASGCU’s new leadership, led by President Samuel Yonan and Executive Vice President Bret Malkin, and bid farewell to 2018-19 President Noah Wolfe. “I’m excited for what they’re going to do. They’re going to do a great job,” Wolfe said. “We’ve had a great run and got a lot of stuff done, so I feel confident to hand the baton off to some wonderful people. I’m looking forward to what’s in the future.”