Colleges

David Salgado knew it was a tough road to take. The Grand Canyon University graduate and IT employee wanted to pass the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), be accepted into a law school and earn a scholarship to pay for it. There were a lot of twists and turns along the way. But he managed a rarity — a full scholarship to law school. His west Phoenix parents jumped for joy. None of the extended family had ever been to college, much less law school. They had canceled vacation to plan on helping to pay for it. Salgado will go to Gonzaga School of Law on the Thomas More Scholarship.

When Luke Elliott started his internship with Avnet this summer, his main interest was strategy. But then the Honors College senior and a co-worker competed at an event where they had to brainstorm, design and create an app, and they won the Salesforce Most Innovative Team award. “It’s definitely a good reinforcement and kind of solidification that I’m doing well, and this is where I belong,” he said.

GCU and GCE volunteers fanned out to two homes in the neighborhood on Friday, digging into painting and landscaping projects and defying the July heat. Homeowner Mira Nava recalled the first time Habitat visited her home eight years ago to fix the roof. Her mother was battling cancer at the time and told Nava: “This is a reminder that God is still here.” Andrea Northup, Habitat for Humanity Faith Relations Manager, told Nava: “That’s what GCU lives by — faith.”

Ryan Hatmaker had good reason to want to make the Disneyland All-American College Band: His parents met there long ago while doing their own performances. But there was one problem. The Grand Canyon University snare drummer, who plays for the Thundering Heard Pep Band, was asked to play a different drum at the audition. He had never play the tenor drums — five instead of one. He didn’t panic. He called on his GCU attitude: Smile and have fun.

There will be a lot of laughs in Ethington Theatre this season, and that’s by design. The schedule, which begins Aug. 23 with “One Man, Two Guvnors,” is filled with classic comedies. “Lighthearted,” said Claude Pensis, Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Production, “but still the plays have messages. It’s always a matter of what does the director want to do, and then how does it fit into the program?”

When Brian Mucyo was 6, his parents had to send their son to a country more medically equipped to care for the deterioration of his vision. With only 10% visibility left in his left eye and a prosthetic eye for his right, Mucyo lived in Belgium for several years before moving to America to complete high school and eventually enroll at GCU. Now he’s an Honors College student and uses the skills he has developed in his travels (specifically, the four languages he now speaks fluently) to help other international students create the confidence to speak and learn English.

Tim Kelley never stops learning — that’s why he applied for a special summer program at the London School of Economics. But once program organizers saw how much the Assistant Professor for Entrepreneurship and Economics in the Colangelo College of Business knows about angel investing, he actually was asked to speak to the class about it. It’s another sign that GCU’s program is “right on target and on the cutting edge,” Kelley said.

Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Waters, now a GCU student, refused to leave the battlefield when his convoy truck was blown up in Afghanistan. Even though he initially was knocked unconscious by the blast and faced enemy fire, he still assisted the wounded when he came to, ignoring his own injuries. All survived the 2008 incident, and for his bravery Waters was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in a ceremony in Michigan. He still remembers their screams: “Doc! Doc! Help us!”

Hospitality students at GCU are consistently placed in positions where they learn by doing, and some of them learn by leading. Now they have a new leader, Karen Madlock, who has the most important take-charge position of all — she’s the first student general manager for the GCU Hotel and Canyon 49 Grill. “We’ve put our students in key positions where they’re making key decisions, and they get to see how they play out,” General Manager Brett Cortright said.

Gina Meyer, a member of the College of Education staff and adjunct faculty since 2008, died of breast cancer on Tuesday. She will be remembered for always looking for ways to incorporate innovative technology tools to bring the course content alive for her online students, advocating for her students, serving as a resource for the online adjunct faculty … and how much she loved GCU.