College of Fine Arts and Production

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.  

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.  

Student’s choreography is taking the stage within Thunderground to showcase their talent and hard work for their peers to see. The Fall Student Spotlight Concert is a student choreographed and performed show and will showcase a number of different styles of dance. “It definitely gives students a vehicle to experiment with what they’re interested in and grow their choreography skills with the help of the faculty,” Senior Jessica Symmes said. The concert will take place on October 15 and 16.

Strategic Employer Initiatives and Internships goes to great lengths to make sure GCU students have an almost endless number of opportunities to turn their degrees into good-paying jobs, and those efforts were on display in a big way Wednesday afternoon at Meet the Agencies in the Colangelo College of Business Building courtyard. The event drew 57 companies and 633 students — easily the most students at one job fair this year.

For fans of Romantic Comedies, than Ethington theatre has the production for you, in it’s second play of the season. “Arms and the Man” is a play written by George Bernard Shaw and showcases a number of central character’s journey to find true love. “I think it’s super interesting sort of the way holds up over time and the way that the meaning shifts,” Alexander Cavanaugh said. “Since the play was originally an anti-war piece, how we’re honing in now on the romanization and the way we present ourselves verses how we actually are as people, it’s cool to see how that translates today and holds up as a piece of art.”

References to the Ethington Theatre’s production of “Peter and the Starcatcher” last year will have to be amended — now you can say it was an award-winning production. GCU’s Theatre Department took home four ariZoni Awards for “Starcatcher” — best overall production, Megan Sutton for Actress in a Supporting Role and Michael Kary for Director and Fight Choreography. “Winning at all now is really hard because it’s so big,” Assistant Dean William Symington said of the ariZonis, the state’s version of the Tony Awards.

Earlier this month two COFAP film students won awards from the Rocky Mountain Southwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Awards. Brittney Ha-Nguyen took home a College Music Video award for One Last Dance,” and Ryan Brennan won the College Short Form Fiction award for “Ruthless.” “It was a really good experience. It was really encouraging to be around other filmmakers from other schools, and it was really encouraging to see that me and my friends here are at the same level for festival-quality work,” Brennan said.

The Theatre Department earned 20 ariZoni Awards nominations for last year’s productions of “Peter and the Starcatcher” and “Ring Round the Moon,” and Christina McSheffrey was selected as one of three winners of the 2019 Zoni Scholarship. “I think it just speaks volumes about the education they’re receiving and how we try to work as much as possible to help them be ready to move on to either grad school or into entertainment as a profession,” said Claude Pensis, College of Fine Arts and Productions Dean and also an ariZoni Nominee. The award ceremony is scheduled for 8 p.m. Monday in Scottsdale.