College of Education

When GCU’s College of Education makes a hire, it goes all in. In fact, its new adjunct professor — the one who gave a shout-out to GCU on social media last week after being hired — popularized those two motivational words. Gian Paul Gonzalez is the New York Giants team chaplain, and here’s how he’s bringing his passionate “all in” style to students.

Just across the freeway from GCU, a little school has grown from 75 students to 875 in just eight years. Empower College Prep has a mission to help students find purpose and do good in the world. Sound familiar? GCU teachers and staff and President Brian Mueller have played a part in mentoring, staffing and forming educational alliances with the charter school.

Chesa Mendez of the College of Education is passionate about diversity awareness in the classroom because, she says, the world has changed but the educational system has been the same for hundreds of years. She also is so devoted to health and wholeness, she created a company that focuses on seven lifestyle areas for what she calls “a holistic approach.”

Amanda Errington is new to the Online Full-Time Faculty in the College of Education, but she isn’t new to teaching. In fact, that’s what she lives and breathes. She says she’s very passionate about quality teacher professional development,” and she has shown it time and again during her own experiences in the classroom. Particularly interesting is the time she taught a class even though she was the principal of the school.

The teacher shortage in Arizona has long been a struggle, and this year it’s worsened by the pandemic. GCU has come to the rescue with a classroom-ready group of teachers, some who are still working toward their degrees at GCU. “I have the best professors in the world, and I wouldn’t be able to do this without them,” said Ali Kissane, who is teaching high school English by day and finishing her GCU degree by night.

For GCU student Maddie Bucky, befriending a boy with special needs changed her outlook. Her problems didn’t seem so large, but that wasn’t all. The boy embraced life and always had a smile, so she tries to do that, too. As president of the student club Best Buddies, she will join others in celebrating the first Disability Awareness Week at GCU.

Nathan Hollis II, Assistant Professor in the College of Education, is a faculty member worth watching. After all, how often do you hear someone say, “I don’t believe my most notable professional accomplishment has come just yet. I believe it is on my journey ahead, and God continues to prepare me.”

Paul Danuser is widely known on campus as an exuberant public address announcer for GCU Athletics. But in his other life as an Assistant Professor and student, he was playing the long game of completing his doctoral degree. In August, he finally won. Dr. Paul Danuser shared what the experience was like, the importance of being a lifelong learner and what he hopes to do next.

Deborah Haralson, IT and IT/cyber faculty lead, wore virtual pink hair and asked students to fill out an online poll about the RAM on their computers. Mechanical Engineering Technology instructor Dina Higgins hit play on her first “Safety Minute” segment. College of Education Assistant Professor Dr. Brandon Juarez started class with a prayer and said he would help students look into how they can become great classroom teachers. Professors and students navigated the first day of class online in the COVID-19 world while looking forward to Sept. 28, when they’ll see each other in person for the first day of on-campus instruction. “While not under the best circumstances, it was a great first day overall,” said technology student Alex Schaeffer.

Dr. Debbie Rickey was known to have an open door in GCU’s College of Education, ready to listen to new ideas for growth and to offer personal support to colleagues. On Monday, she retires after four decades in education and was honored with a retirement parade to her Phoenix home. She leaves an important legacy with countless students who learned from her, teachers she helped mold and with GCU, where she helped lead the effort to the COE’s national accreditation.