Colleges

While other students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Dance Education went straight into the field, Andrea Pardi chose a different path. She recently became the first GCU graduate to earn a master’s in dance when she finished her degree work at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif.

Dr. Cristie McClendon, Senior Doctoral Adjunct Manager/Assistant Professor in the College of Doctoral Studies, has had a hand in a long list of articles about dissertations and online learning. She’d like to have a hand in something far different — think paws — when she retires.

There WAS a Chapel service Monday morning — one in line with the “new normal” of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of the usual service in GCU Arena, it was recorded on campus and made available digitally. Here’s a look at what the Spiritual Life staff and Worship Arts students are doing these days to help people keep the faith.

A GCU behavioral health expert says that what many people are facing today is “vicarious trauma” from the COVID-19 outbreak. They might not have direct effects but know people who do, said Kathy Britton, a trauma therapist by training and Chair of Behavioral Health and Counseling. Sequestered in our shelters, we may experience fear, anxiety and sometimes depression. It’s important to watch for the signs and take measures to combat it.

When Michael Bodeen, GCU’s lead instructor of dissection and the faculty member who helms the anatomy lab, first started hearing about COVID-19 in China, he knew the writing was on the wall. It was going to arrive here, too. That’s when he and pre-med/pre-physician assistant student Mario Barrera started preparing for the inevitability of distance learning. They spent much of spring break putting together extensive anatomy PowerPoints as a study guide to help students in their new online learning environment.

When she came to the United States as a high school exchange student from Italy, Bianca Giorgi said she was searching for a place she would be accepted. The mechanical engineering major found that at GCU, where she has served as a multilingual academic mentor for student-athletes, volunteered as a learning advocate in the Learning Lounge, worked in the Office of Welcome Programs and much more. She also was chosen as the College of Science, Engineering and Technology’s student Commencement speaker for the spring. Although she won’t get to do that this April because of the coronavirus outbreak, she continues on her journey online with her fellow Lopes, as she thinks of her family back in Italy at the epicenter of the outbreak there.

Dr. Enrique Lopezlira, Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance in the Colangelo College of Business, teaches a subject that always has great relevance in our everyday life and is even more front-and-center during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is fascinated about how, in his words, “the economic way of thinking continues to improve our understanding of human behavior.”

Six GCU graduates from the last decade have one thing in common: They see the value of their time at the University. Several still are getting value in other ways. Maya Hinojos struck a deal with GCU to sell more than 6,300 beds from her family’s mattress company, and three are employed by the University. Reprinted from the February issue of GCU Magazine.

A group of seniors in the Dance Department felt blessed to have been at the American College Dance Association’s West Conference when they found out about the cancellation of their final Spring Dance Concert. They got to perform together one last time after being chosen for the conference’s gala. “The seniors in the cast, knowing it was their last performance as members of GCU’s Ethington Dance Ensemble, gave their most heartfelt performances to date. It was a bittersweet moment, to be sure,” said Susannah Keita, Director of the Dance Department.

With coronavirus-prompted school closures becoming a reality, it also became an inevitability that educators would have to teach in a different way. They would have to turn to online instruction in this new era of distance learning. That’s when GCU’s K12 Educational Development Department started to think of things it could do to support teachers. “We just leaped into action and said let’s put it on a YouTube Channel; we know we can do this,” said Corinne Araza, the department’s Director of STEM Outreach and Program Development. It’s where educators can find webinars and Tip-of-the-Day videos, and where parents can find educational tips, too. The department is also supporting teachers through various social media outlets.