Colangelo College of Business

The four recipients of this year’s Colangelo Servant Leadership Awards have a lot in common in the way they give back to the community, but another shared trait was evident at the ceremony Tuesday morning: They revere Jerry Colangelo, namesake for the awards, and were emotional about the honor. “That’s what this award is about, doing something bigger than yourself,” said one of the recipients, Chicanos Por La Causa President and CEO David Adame said. “Clearly, Jerry is a role model for that.”

Sports Business students can gain valuable experience by volunteering to work at events, but two recent opportunities were extra special. Nicole Schuermann and Ryan Batawala met a lot of famous people, including Jerry Colangelo, at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s enshrinement weekend, and Skylar Aprati spent two weeks greeting guests at the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Aprati’s sentiments summed it all up: “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Ever since Linda Jessie and her daughter Brittainy Shirley started their respective graduate programs at GCU, they knew they wanted to sit together at graduation. After over a year of waiting, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair finally made it happen at this week’s Make Up commencement ceremony. “My mom’s amazing, she’s like my best friend and has had a huge impact on me being where I am today,” Shirley said. “It’s been really cool to say that I’ve been going to school with my mom and not just go to school with my mom, but be able to celebrate that accomplishment together.”

Personal Financial Success Week, which began Monday and will continue through Thursday, provides students with information they desperately need, considering the number of Americans living in debt. “Every year we improve our outreach and connection to GCU students on topics of financial literacy and financial wellness,” said Dr. Randy Gibb, Dean of the Colangelo College of Business.

The second of seven makeup Commencement ceremonies Monday proved once again that graduates will travel long distances to celebrate earning their degree. “I just felt that desire to walk across the stage,” said Anthony Jackson Jr., who came all the way from New Orleans. “I wanted to feel that same intensity that the locals feel. I just had to do it.”

Photos by Ralph Freso GCU News Bureau Colangelo College of Business students gathered Wednesday afternoon in the tree-filled courtyard outside the building for the annual kickoff, an open house where they could gather information and talk with faculty.  

GCU’s students don’t have to travel all the way to New York to learn about the world of finance. They can do so right here on campus at the new Charles Schwab Foundation Finance Center, which opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday. The 34-seat classroom, yet another of the campus’ hands-on learning spaces (or Lopes Live Labs), is where students not only will take classes, but it will be where finance clubs meet and where speakers will visit with students. It’s also where they can get experience on the center’s Bloomberg Terminal, a computer system chock full of real-time financial data and news feeds. “These students have the ability to basically sit in Wall Street in Phoenix, Arizona,” said finance professor Alan Klibanoff.

The first One Foundation Lunch and Learn of the 2021-22 academic year is scheduled for Monday, and this year’s topic offers faculty a topic ripe for discussion: “Human Flourishing: Embracing Our Purpose.” Monday’s session will focus on the greatest sermon ever, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

Chris Goodson’s master’s program in Organizational Leadership and Entrepreneurship at GCU inspired her to pursue an entrepreneurial — and life-changing — goal in the Kansas town where she lives. The 2019 graduate used her knowledge as a real estate appraiser to arrange construction of 10 cottages for the homeless. “I really believe this is God’s project. He’s the one moving this forward,” she said.

Lopes Live Labs serve a variety of student needs, particularly in the Colangelo College of Business. Future certified financial planners will receive first-rate training in the new Charles Schwab Foundation Finance Center, and GCU Hotel and Canyon 49 Grill serve as a classroom for the hospitality program. “We very intentionally bought the hotel, fixed it up and built a restaurant to give students an applied learning lab,” said the CCOB dean, Dr. Randy Gibb.