College of Nursing & Health Care Professions

If a student takes a tumble on a skateboard or turns an ankle in intramurals, they might just find themselves at the Lopes Orthopedic Clinic on the first floor of Chaparral Hall. The 2-year-old clinic is quickly becoming the go-to place for treatment when it comes to musculoskeletal injuries. It’s also where athletic training students can get hands-on experience. The unique Lopes Live Lab offers students an “opportunity, really, like none other,” said Michael McKenney, Assistant Professor and Clinical Education Coordinator of the Athletic Training program. Excerpted from the cover story on Lopes Live Labs from the August issue of GCU Magazine.

Kellie Lotshaw always thought she’d be working on the sidelines of a football field or with athletes in some other collision or action sport. But she’s stepping up in a different way. As an injury prevention specialist at Amazon’s new robotics fulfillment center in Goodyear, the 2015 athletic training graduate is one of only 3% of board-certified athletic trainers who work in the corporate or industrial setting.

April X. Castillo dearly wanted to be a nurse, but there was an unexpected challenge. The admission exam for the GCU nursing program has a significant section on grammar. She took the test and failed twice. That’s when Dr. Jennifer Santos heard about her plight and offered to help. After a lot of private lessons on things such as comma splices and apostrophes, Castillo realized her dream of becoming a nurse. She is just one of many would-be nurses helped by the GCU English department — Santos and Dr. Heather Brody have volunteered their time to help them study for the language portion of the exams.

When the state closed its test-taking sites for the National Council Licensure Examination during the COVID-19 lockdowns, GCU’s nursing students were worried. They were worried, too, that once those sites opened back up that they might not be as prepared as they could have been to take the test, which they must pass to begin working in the field. Still, GCU’s nursing students in the first quarter of 2021 scored a 100% first-time pass rate on the exam, thanks to the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions faculty who found answers when COVID presented roadblock after roadblock. Said Dean Dr. Lisa Smith, “We’re going to do everything we can to support our students until they cap.”

There was no shortage of enthusiasm recently when the Honors College staged its first mission trip since the beginning of the pandemic. Eighteen students, accompanied by Honors College Program Manager Anna “Anya” Cofrancesco, traveled to Baja, Mexico for a medical mission trip. “It was honestly one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” said one of the students, Cheyenne Archuleta. “I really enjoyed getting to help people and really immerse myself into a new culture. It was a really great way to end my senior year.”

The virtual Commencement ceremony for online students Saturday was actually eight prerecorded ceremonies — one for each college, with a promise of more ceremonies this fall for graduates who would like the in-person experience. But the acknowledgment of their accomplishments amid the pandemic couldn’t wait. “What you have accomplished is remarkable, and we are celebrating it today,” GCU President Brian Mueller said.

Lists are interesting. They spark conversation. And there was plenty to talk about in the 2020-21 academic year at GCU, which made it a year to remember — not because of the pandemic, but because of the way it kept moving forward despite the challenges of COVID-19. Here are the top 10 stories of the year, reprinted from the April issue of GCU Magazine, with extra photos depicting the most memorable moments.

GCU’s Point of Dispensing vaccination site will end full-time operations for the public on Monday, exactly three months after it opened. It passed 50,000 vaccinations in just 38 days and didn’t need even that long to reach 100,000. And unlike other sites, which charge several thousand dollars per day, GCU did it for free by using students, faculty and staff volunteers. Reprinted from the April issue of GCU Magazine.

The graduation of the class of 2020 was more than a year in the making, but the pandemic-interrupted celebration became a reunion of friends who hadn’t seen each other for months. “Seeing a lot of people brings up a lot of memories of school and friend groups and different years and different people along the way,” said graduate Ethan Collins.

Countless seniors during the global pandemic shelved their caps and gowns as commencement ceremonies across the country were canceled. So parents were thrilled to hear GCU would open its Spring 2021 ceremonies to family members. Said one parent, Breanne Ramirez, the tears flowed when she heard that Commencement for her daughter Patty would in person. “I was very emotional, excited beyond belief that we were able to attend.”