Colleges

The One Foundation Lunch and Learns, which began Friday, offer a perfect opportunity for faculty members to learn more about teaching from a Christian perspective. “It sustains a conversation that is necessary,” said Dr. Jason Hiles, Dean of the College of Theology. Five more one-hour sessions are scheduled during the academic year, and the first 100 people to sign up get a free lunch.

Jerry Perkins emerged from a challenging childhood to become a foremost authority on radiation exposure as it relates to X-ray machines, medical lasers, etc. His students benefit greatly from that knowledge, but equally impressive is his hard work in battling a major community issue. And besides all that, he also is a triathlete.

Honors College sophomore Esmeralda Gomez earned a prestigious internship at TGen this summer and for eight weeks joined students from around the country, including Ivy League schools, in researching possible cures and treatments for a rare form of ovarian cancer. “It was just really cool. There was just never any competition between us — it was all about growth,” she said.

Andre Mooney, a member of the Online Full-Time Faculty in the College of Theology, plays a mean game of pickleball — he’s even an instructor in the sport. But when it comes to teaching, he’s anything but mean. He talks about “doing life with my students” and works hard to help his students to “see the world through a Christian lens,” as he puts it. But most and impressive of all is a responsibility he and his wife have taken on.

Beth Guckenberger said she was ill-prepared for her life in missional work and found herself in over her head many times. But she shows up, with her pink Bible, her heart and her mind and knows that God will show up for her, too. “Do you know how many times I’ve been in over my head? Every day,” she told students at Chapel. ” … But here’s what happens. When you get into God’s business, and you get in over your head and you cry out to him, he’ll say, ‘Hey, whatever it is you’re asking of me, I’m already in agreement of it.” Her talk came just before Monday night’s mission fair at GCU Arena and tonight’s The Gathering, where several mission groups will conduct break-out sessions. Her talk also came at a time when the Worship Team was celebrating something of their own — the release of the new Canyon Worship album.

To celebrate the release of Canyon Worship 2019, Amanda Riffe performed “Isaiah 55” at Chapel this morning. The story of how she conceptualized her song is remarkably similar to those of other student artists on the album. “It’s definitely a Holy Spirit thing,” she said.

Brian Gerber, Assistant Professor of Digital Film, teaches College of Fine Arts and Production students about both filmmaking and digital design, which makes him an authority on more than just how to put a film together successfully — he also can speak to where films fit in today’s media. He’s all about helping filmmakers do a better job with the hundreds of decisions they have to make.

The Canyon Worship albums quickly have gained a national reputation for their depth and quality, which makes the Monday release for the 2019 version a big day for old fans and new. And this year, the push is on to get it in the hands of even more people. “We want to get it as far-reaching as we can,” said Dr. Randall Downs, Coordinator of the Center for Worship Arts at GCU. Last in a nine-part series on GCU academics.

Melissa Davis has overcome an abusive childhood and young adulthood marked by drug abuse and crime to become a scholar and a model for her children. She works overnight jobs in Fresno, Calif., so that during the day she can home-school three of her eight children and study online for her master’s degree in English at GCU.

The College of Fine Arts and Production gives students many opportunities to connect with industry professionals. Students from multiple programs in the college have a chance to engage with guest dance artists and directors, scene designers and a professional drone cinematographer, to name a few. “I think it has to do with our push and our goal of helping our students succeed once they leave here,” said Claude Pensis, Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Production. “It’s a matter of really trying to use every tool that we could possibly get to help them make contacts, to help them get to know industry professionals in the Valley and hopefully to be interviewed by them and find jobs.”