Colangelo College of Business

Robert Vera, Director of the Canyon Ventures Center, is all about building relationships, and his efforts have paid off in a big way for Angie Celis and the Canyon 49 Grill. When Vera learned that Celis, who was working at GCU Hotel, was a former pastry chef, he asked her to make a pie for him, and Angie’s Pies was born. The Grill is selling them for the holidays.

Michael Shapiro remembers when he and his roommate were practically the only skateboarders at GCU. These days, it’s hard not to see a skateboarder whizzing by. Shapiro returned to campus Saturday for the +swappow PLUS Foundation’s tent sale to raise money for the nonprofit, which helps foster children thrive by teaching them skateboarding and life skills, and by exposing them to places such as GCU, where they skated at the campus’ new skatepark last year. It was the first time many of them had stepped onto a college campus. “I think God has a heart for the orphan – the one that’s in need,” said Shapiro, Executive Director of the foundation.

Kailee Skubal has been at GCU for less than a year, but she already has started a swimwear business that’s making money … and won the Canyon Challenge. “I’m just kind of a go-getter personality,” she said. Find out why the freshman accounting major started making swimsuits and amazed her grandmother, who taught her how to sew.

The Canyon Challenge will be on livestream only this semester because of the pandemic, but that isn’t the only noticeable change: For the first time, it will feature a high school competition. Also significant is the fact that two of the five GCU finalists are not business majors. It will be available for viewing at 4 p.m. Friday.

Veterans Day has extra meaning in the Colangelo College of Business, which is led by two former Air Force officers. Dean Dr. Randy Gibb says his military service helps him relate to veterans, and Dr. Mark Clifford uses it to govern the standards he sets in the classroom. Another CCOB administrator, Erin Boling, calls their leadership “inspiring” and has noticed that a lot of applicants for adjunct positions have a military background.

Colangelo College of Business students were challenged to come up with marketing ideas for Phoenix Raceway, which is hosting the NASCAR championship this weekend and must find ways to attract fans even though most of them can’t attend the race because of the pandemic. They didn’t disappoint. “Every single one of the ideas that they provided to us are things that we can continue to ideate on and hopefully implement,” Phoenix Raceway President Julie Giese said.

GCU’s Eta Chi chapter of Delta Mu Delta held a “virtual coffee” Wednesday morning that included among its guests two members of the international business honors society’s national leadership team. The featured speaker was Colangelo College of Business adjunct Dr. Dionne Arceneaux, whose talk was titled “Living, Leading and Learning.”

Neda Barrie brings an important dynamic to the Colangelo College of Business in her first year at GCU: She has worked closely with professional athletes by helping them set up their own foundations. She says it’s important to connect as people first, and she’s bringing that attitude to her students. “I want them to bring their stories to life and learn to connect with others in an authentic way,” she said.

The list of speakers for Money Week, GCU’s annual instructional in financial literacy, includes four recent alumni who have gone into the financial services industry. They were eager to give back to the University because of their experience at GCU, and current students following in their footsteps helped organize and are facilitating the virtual event.

Money Week, GCU’s annual financial literacy event for students, faculty and staff, will be entirely online next week because of the pandemic. Each 20-minute session features an industry expert discussing a particular topic, and there also are four 40-minute sessions for keynote speakers and panels.