College of Education

Lopes Teach Up Week runs through Wednesday and is focused on helping students secure teaching positions and advocating for teaching and education professions. The Provost Speaker Series event on Monday, “Teacher Advocacy and Self-Care,” included a panel discussion on advocating for yourself.

Colangelo College of Business students aren’t the only ones who need to learn how to handle personal finances, of course, so Money Week was expanded this year to College of Education classrooms. Dr. Suzanne Zentner, Assistant Superintendent of Strategy and Business Development for Gilbert Public Schools, is sharing her district’s holistic approach to its employees.

University development manager Sarah Wade is a GCU graduate and is working on her doctorate. Her daughter went to GCU and now teaches at a Southern California high school that has several other GCU connections. “I feel like I can’t go anywhere without somebody knowing somebody who is on campus at GCU,” Wade said.

Saturday was a day of celebration as Grand Canyon University’s Alpha Chi chapter inducted 1,212 new members into the prestigious honors society. Only students within the top 10% of their graduating class in each of their individual colleges are eligible. “GCU does attract a lot of exceptional learners,” Honors College Associate Dean Breanna Naegeli said.

Jillian Hartman, an Assistant Professor in the College of Education, has considerable experience in mentoring new teachers and is passionate about new technology that makes her more effective in her job. Away from work, she and her husband are plenty busy with their three young children, who look absolutely adorable in this photo with Thunder. Her past includes an interesting competition that requires a lot of skill to master.

Lynette Stant became the first Native American woman to be named Arizona Teacher of the Year Thursday at Arizona Educational Foundation ceremonies in Phoenix. Stant earned her Master’s of Arts in Teaching at GCU in 2006. She stressed being a role model for Native America children and bringing equitable education to rural parts of the state. GCU alums dominated the top 10 in the contest. Three of the five semifinalists are also GCU alums.

The Association of Christian Schools International’s first international job fair at GCU brought representatives from 28 countries to campus Tuesday. “We have a variety of job fairs and career fairs, but mostly they’re local and national. This is opening up the door in a large way to the number of professions in that international sphere,” said Dr. Tacy Ashby, Senior Vice President of K12 Educational Development. “The College of Education is really excited about this because it affords incredible ministry opportunities while allowing their students the opportunity to serve in Christian schools abroad.”

Photos by Elizabeth Tinajero GCU News Bureau The final ceremony of Fall Commencement, at 7 p.m. Friday, featured master’s graduates from the College of Education. For a full replay of the ceremony, click here.   Related content: GCU Today: GCU reaches 1,000 signed doctoral dissertations   GCU Today: My LopeLife: Passion for education drives teachers GCU Today: My LopeLife: Nurses know all about hanging tough GCU Today: My LopeLife: Tales of doctoral, nursing challenges GCU Today: Slideshow: Fall Commencement, Friday afternoon ceremony GCU Today: Slideshow: Fall Commencement, Friday morning ceremony GCU Today: My LopeLife: Stories from Thursday evening session GCU Today: Slideshow: Fall Commencement, Thursday evening ceremony GCU Today: Jamaican graduate hopes degree will impact others GCU Today: Kirk Cameron delivers powerful message to grads GCU Today: My LopeLife: They had to be all business to succeed GCU Today: Slideshow: Fall Commencement, Thursday afternoon ceremony GCU Today: Slideshow: Fall Commencement, Thursday morning ceremony GCU Today: My LopeLife: Humanities grads share their joy

GCU produced a long list of teachers and administrators with master’s degrees at the Friday evening Commencement ceremony, and their My LopeLife stories reflect their passion for what they do. As one put it, “I continuously ask myself, ‘What can I do differently to enrich my students’ learning?'”

There were graduates from four different colleges at the Thursday evening ceremony of Fall Commencement, but their stories have several things in common — starting with perseverance. But it’s also gratifying to hear about the support of their families and the admiration of their children.