College of Fine Arts and Production

“A Year with Frog and Toad” makes its way to Ethington Theatre and is the bow on top of another memorable semester for COFAP’s Theatre Department. Guest director Debra K. Stevens adds her experience with Childsplay to help bring Arnold Lobel’s beloved characters to life. “The cast is phenomenal, I mean not a weak voice in the cast, everyone is absolutely great and it’s super fun and super sweet,” Alexander Cavanaugh, who plays Frog, said.

Dr. Carolina Conte, an online film instructor in the College of Fine Arts and Production, believes that learning is a “never ending and communal experience.” She has done a long list of papers and talks, and even her list of citizenships is long — three countries.

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.

Halloween is right around the corner, which means it’s the perfect time to get in the spirit with “The Addams Family” at the Christian Youth Theater, where a group of GCU alumni are doing the creative and technical work. Alexandra Biggs called CYT “a natural fit” for all the GCU alumni and added, “I think that CYT’s mission aligns really well with GCU, and it’s nice to be working for a company that is kind of a ministry opportunity for alumni as well.”

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.”

It’s not every day that audiences get the chance to hear musical compositions that showcase the clarinet, viola and piano, but College of Fine Arts and Production clarinet instructor Tim Haas wants to make sure students have the opportunity to do just that. “I feel that it’s really important for my students to hear me play,” Haas said. “I want to expose them and all the other musicians here in the department to different kinds of music and give them a chance to hear some stuff that they’re not going to get to hear elsewhere.” A faculty recital showcasing Haas and two guest artists will feature music by Mozart and Max Bruch at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the GCU Recording Studio. It also will be live-streamed on GCU TV.

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.

Photos by Elizabeth Tinajero GCU News Bureau The 7 p.m. ceremony Thursday was for online graduates of the College of Fine Arts and Production, the College of Theology, the College of Education (bachelor’s degrees only) and the College of Science, Engineering and Technology. For a full replay of the ceremony, click here.   Related content: GCU Today: Slideshow: Fall Commencement, Friday evening ceremony 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: GCU reaches 1,000 signed doctoral dissertations 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

Kirk Cameron’s Fall Commencement keynote address underlines the importance of perseverance. The former “Growing Pains” star and now prominent Christian actor addressed GCU’s most recent group of graduates with congratulations and a powerful message of overcoming fear, fulfilling their mission and finishing the race. “This was really exciting,” Cameron said. “I was a little nervous, I’ve never done it before … I knew with all these Christian families, it was just really a special blessing to be part of this day that they’ll remember for their whole life.”

Photos by Mathew McGraw GCU News Bureau The Fall Student Spotlight Concert allowed dance students to bring their creative and artistic creations to the stage in Thunderground. An array of different styles were on display, and dancers were able to receive audience reactions to their choreography in real time. Jessica Symmes, who choreographed and performed two pieces in the concert, said the concert will remain a sentimental memory as her last Student Spotlight before graduating with her degree in Nursing and a minor in Dance.