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Five finalists were chosen from 44 business plans that were submitted in the inaugural competition. The Fan Post, Wild Horse Coffee and Providence Brewing Company.took the top three places and won cash awards.

Most of the volunteers, including the GCU men’s and women’s basketball teams, settled at the Phoenix Dream Center. The previously run-down motel south of Indian School Road on Grand Avenue houses 300 residents recovering from years of heavy drug use, prostitution and crimes that landed many in prison.

About 1,500 students currently live on campus. By this fall, the number climbs to around 3,200. Campus officials already have begun training and organizing dozens of new student leaders to cover the numbers of underclassmen filling two new residence halls.

Kate Condie-Clarke, now a testimonial speaker for United Blood Services, says the only thing she knew about leukemia was that it was some kind of blood disorder “and everybody I knew that had either leukemia or lymphoma had all passed on.” She was nearly among that group.

Senior Christina Cullers and sophomore Jake Swanson get outside their respective comfort zones in the season’s final production at Ethington Theatre, which features about a dozen song-and-dance numbers.

Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and Gilbert and Sullivan’s “H.M.S. Pinafore” also are part of the new season, which will involve more than 100 theatre majors at GCU.

Dr. Mark Wooden, dean for GCU’s College of Arts and Sciences, says the forensic program is expected to continue to develop students to fill “high-need areas and also some of the highest-paying jobs” in areas of DNA analysis and other detail-oriented fields in laboratory science or criminal justice.

“There’s so much you can do in your lifetime to make not only something of yourself, but I’m saying to really enjoy what life has to offer, if you’re willing to pay the price,” said the Phoenix sports executive, who last appeared publicly at GCU in October at the unveiling of his namesake sports business school.

GCU’s baseball team has hosted the event for several years, giving physically- and mentally-challenged adults from the Arizona Recreation Center for the Handicapped the thrill of connecting with a pitch or throwing out a baserunner on a big-time field.

Relay for Life involves teams of people who take turns walking laps around a track, spelling teammates while they sleep in tents or participate in overnight festivities. The idea is to constantly have a representative running, jogging or walking the track. Teams raise money in advance.