College of Humanities and Social Sciences

When Stacy Etsitty earned her associate degree, it was important to her to return to her hometown of Navajo, New Mexico. She wanted to make a difference — and did — when she helped secure funding to fix the only road to and from the elementary school, where she worked as a bookkeeper. She continues to dedicate herself to her community, recently starting a new job in Window Rock, Arizona, capital of the Navajo Nation. “I want to do more for my people. … Look at this place,” she said. “How can someone do their education and NOT come back to this place?”

It’s been a year like no other, and that notion is especially true in regards to this year’s GCU Hall of Fame recipients. Rachel Winkler, Scott Van Newkirk, Garth Bailey and Dan Snyder were selected to be added to the growing list of impressive alumni who are making an impact in their fields. From business to the health insurance industry, each recipient holds an impressive resumé and an even more impressive journey. “I feel like your education is just the start,” Van Newkirk said. “Nothing is going to be given to you, and how you prepare your work ethic through school is going to carry on into your career.” Reprinted from the April issue of GCU Magazine.

Police work already was challenging, and then the events of the last year made it that much more difficult. But Alex Couch, who graduated from GCU a year ago, still wanted to take it on and recently became a police officer in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He quickly saw the value of his Justice Studies courses at GCU, particularly the classes on community policing.

Photos by Ralph Freso GCU News Bureau The final ceremony of Spring Commencement brought back to campus spring 2020 graduates whose ceremonies had to be canceled last year because of the pandemic. The student speaker was Samuel Yonan, the 2019-20 president of the Associated Students of Grand Canyon University.  

As the typical GCU student, Leah Eggan worried about her grades and, far from her home in Minnesota, she worried about making friends. But Eggan wasn’t the typical student. She learned she had a tumor in her leg her freshman year and, just four days before moving to Phoenix to start her sophomore year, she found out the tumors had returned. During her time at GCU, she fought through 17 tumors but made it through with the help of supportive professors and friends. She graduated Monday with a degree in Psychology, attending Commencement virtually, and is busy applying for occupational therapy school.

Photos by David Kadlubowski and Mathew McGraw GCU News Bureau The first of four Spring Commencement sessions celebrated graduates of the College of Education and College of Humanities and Social Sciences on Monday morning. It included a diploma awarded posthumously to Bionca Sparrow, mother of GCU basketball player Oscar Frayer, who was killed in an auto accident last month. The student speaker was Kayla Peterson of the College of Education.    

It was a year that demanded adaptability. And this year’s graduating class was among the most flexible and driven, GCU leaders said Monday morning during the first of four Commencement ceremonies at GCU Arena. Few exemplify that more than the student speaker, Kayla Peterson. She endured a learning disability and then decided to be a teacher. She said it’s her calling now to help others find their purpose.

There was no shortage of inspirational redemption stories at Wednesday’s Phoenix Rescue Mission Signing Event as three of four scholarship recipients signed their letter of intent to attend the University in the fall. The recipients, who have completed the nonprofit’s Recovery Program, include Amanda Jaramillo, Jacqueline Mix, Brian Farretta and GCU 2019 alum Jesse Dalla Riva. “These people have had some significant challenges and they’ve taken the first step now, they’ve gone through the Phoenix Rescue Mission Program, they’ve come out of it successfully and they’ve started their new life,” said GCU President Brian Mueller. “For us to be able to offer them this opportunity to take their life now to a whole new level is a blessing.”

How people communicate has changed drastically over the past several years, and anyone with a mobile phone knows just how crazy that can get. GCU will equip students for those continued changes with six new programs of study. New bachelor’s programs in Social Media and Professional Writing and three new Communications emphases will launch in the fall and highlight the ethics, civility and judgment in media and communications that are sorely needed these days.

When Will Gonzalez hears others say about another person, “Oh well, that’s their lot in life. That’s what they are,” he disagrees wholeheartedly. “I think you can intercept people at different points in their lives,” he said. “I think there is the potential for redeeming.” It’s what makes the city of Phoenix prosecutor so passionate about his work in the community, particularly in schools. His work has included everything from presenting teen dating violence programs to advocating for restorative justice in public schools and bringing a $3.6 million Boys & Girls Club to one campus. It’s also why Gonzalez, a GCU alumni and Chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees, was recently named the Phoenix Union High School District Alumni of the Year.