College of Education

Photos by Elizabeth Tinajero GCU News Bureau The Friday morning ceremony of Fall Commencement featured master’s graduates of the College of Education.    

The hooding of the College of Doctoral Studies graduates Thursday afternoon included five GCU faculty members — Dr. Emily Pottinger, Dr. Stacy Vaught, Dr. Alicia Kozimor and Dr. Tracy Vasquez from the College of Education and Dr. Ben VanDerLinden from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. CDS Dean Dr. Michael Berger couldn’t recall that many faculty in one Commencement. “It’s great to educate our own community and watch them be successful at the hardest thing you can do in academia,” he said.

Andrew Campbell traveled from New York to GCU to walk the stage at Commencement on Friday morning. But afterward he wanted to thank a person he had never met in person. Annalit Crosby was his GCU Student Services counselor, and when he was ready to quit because he was overwhelmed with jobs, a family and studies, she helped him through. “I want to thank God for Annalit Crosby,” he said.

Photos by Rick D’Elia GCU News Bureau The Thursday morning of Fall Commencement featured graduates of the College of Education (bachelor’s); College of Fine Arts and Production; College of Humanities and Social Sciences (bachelor’s); College of Nursing and Health Care Professions (bachelor’s); College of Science, Engineering and Technology; and College of Theology.       

Ali Nelson found herself standing on a professional baseball field Sunday, right in front of high-priced professional athletes warming up for the Arizona Diamondbacks game. She teaches fourth grade at Sunnyslope School in Phoenix. The GCU alumna was among 10 teachers honored as Diamondbacks Most Valuable Teacher in STEM, an award inspired by Honeywell. She was given $1,000 for classroom supplies, a jersey featuring her name and cheers from the crowd in a pre-game fete. But she says it’s what she picked up GCU that helped last year during the pandemic, her first in teaching: It’s all about caring for students and making sure they know you believe in them.

When Emil Cicogna couldn’t get his students to read as a high school teacher, he brought in copies of his own manuscript. The students were captivated by the story of an 1885 family and learned valuable lessons about the Industrial Revolution. He said half of them had never read an entire book before. Today, as an Online Fulltime Faculty member of GCU’s College of Education, he encourages teacher candidates to incorporate literature into their lessons of history and other subjects. And his manuscript became a published trilogy, recently finding a home in the Lopes for Literacy Multicultural Library.

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.

STEM educators who are movers and shakers when it comes to teaching math and science were on campus Saturday to celebrate the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. The awards are the highest honor in the nation the government gives to educators in those disciplines, with winners receiving a certificate, trip to Washington, D.C., and $10,000. The event honored finalists for the 2021 and 2020 awards. But more than that, it was a way for Presidential Awardees to share ideas, support each other and build a community of high-level math and science educators.

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.”

GCU College of Education students are learning a lot these days. “Wow, this is what my professor does outside of class?” asked Emily Sharp, a COE student worker who helps assemble video clips for a faculty and staff Instagram story feed. One story recently showed a professor getting on his bicycle, another at poolside. It’s all part of an expanded social media effort in COE to put a face to education.