Career Services

Bill Palowski served in the Air Force for 23 years. Christina Herman was a GCU student who changed her major three times and wasn’t sure what she wanted to do as a career. But after immersing themselves in four months in GCU’s Java Certificate Program, the new coders both were hired, before graduation, by a large technology consulting firm. They are examples of the success of the program, which made its debut this year. Palowski, Herman and five other Java boot camp students are finishing the camp Friday and held a showcase this week for industry leaders.

You have one minute: Rant on the topic of “Pockets.” Go! It was just one of the activities freshman engineering students tackled in Excellence in Engineering, a series of six workshops covering everything from resume-building to handling stress and public speaking. The workshops, led by engineering students, also are designed to build a sense of community in the department.

The College of Science, Engineering and Technology is taking a unique approach in helping their freshmen engineering students “find their God-given purpose,” as CSET Dean Dr. Mark Wooden calls it. As part of their curriculum, those students take a comprehensive personality and career assessment called the Indigo Assessment. “We were looking for something that would help incoming students determine early on whether their choice of an engineering major was truly in line with their internal motivators and capitalized on their unique strengths,” said Wooden.

GCU is always evolving, with new buildings rising up and offices and colleges moving to new spaces. All the change makes for an interesting first-day of class. The GCU News team fanned out on Monday to talk to students, professors and even the Success Patrol and Academic Career Excellence Centers, who there there to make sure students found their classrooms.

GCU’s Robotics Club left Louisville’s Kentucky Exposition Center to decompress after failing to advance to the final matches of the VEX Robotics World Finals — an international event featuring about 1,100 teams from middle-school to collegiate levels. But then they heard they left a little early — the team ended up winning the Judges Award, given to a team who the judges think are deserving of special recognition.

The campus was about as busy as it will ever be Thursday when the Job and Internship Fair took over. There were tables everywhere — and plenty of sharply dressed students looking to impress potential employers. It was the largest job fair the Career IMPACT Center has ever put on.

Volunteering is an altruistic way to gain valuable and rewarding experience while helping the community or providing a service. Taking a strategic approach to volunteering can have positive effects on the development of skills and experiences in a position or field related to your student’s degree program. Relevant volunteer opportunities can be useful when applying to full-time or internship opportunities, and students can sometimes turn their experience into paid positions. Benefits of strategic volunteering: Allows students to gain valuable skills and experiences in a role that incorporates their long term career goals. Allows students to demonstrate skills and values and their impact within an organization. Allows students to get their foot in the door of certain organizations or non-profits that they have an interest in. Allows students to expand their professional network. Things to consider when finding strategic volunteer opportunities: Do my values relate to this organization’s mission? Will this role motivate me to learn and improve? What can I learn or take away from this experience? Can I obtain additional training or certification through this role? Does this opportunity align with my future career goals? The Career IMPACT Center is always happy to answer any specific questions your student […]

By Katherine Urrutia Career IMPACT Center  Do you remember participating in Serve the City? Canyon Cares Christmas? Or the Run to Fight Children’s Cancer? As Grand Canyon University students, you had many opportunities to serve the community. Why should that stop now that you are among the alumni? The answer is, you don’t have to! The Bible states, “Give, and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:38). Just as God has given us the opportunity to rejoice in our achievements, it is also important to remember the good you can do by giving back. As members of the GCU community, you learned that serving others was a key aspect of your daily student activities. As alumni, it might seem that many of those opportunities were limited to the campus, but guess again! There are several different organizations seeking volunteers. Even if you don’t have a lot of time, there are opportunities available to give back, and they’re not overwhelming at all. Although it might be hard to step away from your busy schedule, there are always different opportunities that you can take part in when it comes to volunteering. Whether it is caring for animals, assisting veterans or teaching […]

By Jackie Smith Executive Director, Career IMPACT Center So many new graduates and ones who graduated years ago are looking for the “perfect” job or “perfect” career because they’re not enjoying or appreciating their current position. I hate to break this to you, but the perfect position does not exist. One of my favorite Bible verses is Jeremiah 29:11, which states, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” If one truly believes this, then why be anxious about anything? It’s easy to read these words or offer this wisdom as advice, but it’s hard to live by them.  In my 20s and early 30s, I had my own plan and took the best steps I could do climb the corporate ladder. I listened to input from others and let the world define what constituted success.  Success was defined as a certain title, money and long days at the office; sacrificing my personal life. It took a near-death experience for me to stop living for myself (and others) and start living the life God planned for me. I re-evaluated my career, my […]

By Aysha Bell GCU IMPACT Center Throughout our lives we consistently receive advice from loved ones, trusted advisers and colleagues. Sometimes the advice isn’t valuable for our circumstances. However, there are times when the input is extremely impactful and affects the trajectory of our personal and/or professional journey. The best career advice I ever received came through a Sunday morning message at church. When I was younger, I struggled with follow-through. I would overbook my schedule with tasks and events I was unable to fully execute. As a result, I often “dropped the ball” in areas of responsibility. Then one Sunday the pastor preached a message that emphasized the first half of the scripture found in Matthew 5:37: But let your “Yes” be “Yes” and your “No” be “No.”  That resonated with me so much, it got me to re-evaluate how I handle my areas of commitment. When I said “yes” to an obligation, I needed to make sure I completed the assignment and/or task to the best of my ability. Ensuring that my “yes” was “yes” and my “no” was “no” has changed both my professional and personal life for the better. Since I made a commitment to that principle, I have been trusted […]