Community

Eighty GCU students are in the class room already, gaining valuable experience by teaching lessons in math, science, social studies and art at nearby Westwood Elementary for students from preschool through Grade 3.

Photos by David Kadlubowski GCU News Bureau Student artists from the Canyon Worship 2018 album performed their songs Tuesday night at Harvest Bible Chapel West Valley.  

Canyon Worship West, the first concert by students whose work appeared on the Canyon Worship 2018 album, drew an appreciative crowd Tuesday at Harvest Bible Chapel West Valley. “These guys came into this church, set up three hours before, and walked in like they’d been playing here for 10 years,” said Genaro “Gin” Giurgiu, the church’s Director of Worship.

Photos by Gillian Rea GCU News Bureau The Thunder Bolt shopping spree winner, Dave Argo, and his startled wife, Susan, were among the happiest members of the extended Lopes clan on Family Weekend. The campus was transformed Saturday into a dynamic display of family love, including a chance for homesick Lopes students to reconnect with their parents and siblings. Laughter, hugs, leisurely lunches and Lopes spirit ruled Family Weekend, and no amount of rain could douse the feeling. Families connected on the bowling alleys and billiards tables in Thunderground, among other events.

Let’s put this myth to bed: Donate to Elevate in no way is a cost to employees. It’s a way to take control — to allocate — how your tax dollars are being spent. All of us have to pay taxes, but Donate to Elevate gives GCU and GCE employees the power to tell the state government how their tax dollars should be used — for Habitat for Humanity, private Christian schools, public Arizona schools or all three. Employees allocated $2.7 million last year, and the goal for the 2019 campaign is $2.8 million. The process of enrolling is a no-brainer. It literally takes a couple of mouse clicks to compete. And if 90 percent of the employees in a department enroll, they’ll be rewarded with a half-day off work.

Time stood still Friday night at GCU Stadium for a group of families battling cancer. For those few hours, it was OK to take a break from the fight. The ninth annual Run to Fight Children’s Cancer event kicked off it’s season at the men’s soccer game, with children donning gold superhero capes getting the chance to walk out and be introduced with the Lopes’ soccer team. Run to Fight has raised nearly $600,000 for families battling the disease since its inception in 2011. This year’s race is scheduled for March 16.

Dr. Randall Downs, the new coordinator of the Center for Worship Arts, had an idea after he heard the Canyon Worship 2018 album: Why not have the student artists perform their songs out in the community? They’ll do exactly that on Tuesday, Oct. 16, at Harvest Bible Chapel West Valley in Peoria. “With all the talent these students have, we love seeing that displayed,” he said.

Grand Canyon University employees are top of the class. Community Outreach Manager Debbie Accomazzo knows this, and it’s why she didn’t panic when Habitat volunteering was low a couple of weeks ago. All she had to do was put out one call, and nearly 60 volunteers answered. On Friday, 25 of those trustworthy employees were at a house on 43rd Avenue. It was GCU’s second trip to the home, where employees helped with putting a new roof on the first time and painted this time.

A mixture of logical debate strategies for pro-life arguments and anecdotes about the sanctity of human life highlighted GCU’s second annual Bioethics Conference, Human Dignity: Clash of World Views. One speaker refused to abort her daughter and refused to use stem cells from fetuses to aid her brain damaged son. Another speaker shared heartfelt steps to ease grief from the loss of a newborn.

Canyon 49 Grill has released new menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner and has expanded its entertainment options. The new menus have a southwest twang and 90 percent of the dishes are made from scratch, including Executive Chef Marcus Maggiore’s special New York strip steak with a house chipotle honey butter and chorizo potato hash. “We upped our game completely and tried to make food you would get in any high-end restaurant approachable to the student body and to our local guests,” Maggiore said. “It’s a chance for us to kind of show off what we can do as chefs, a chance to make the best food we can.” Both student and employees receive a 10 percent discount to the grill. There’s also a free shuttle that runs from campus to Canyon 49 every 20 minutes until 10 p.m.