College of Nursing & Health Care Professions

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.”

Graduates of the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions online bachelor’s degree program, who filled the Friday afternoon Commencement ceremony, had a lot to say about what it takes to do what they do — both on the job and in earning their degree. It’s amazing how often they hesitated to sign up until something made them take the plunge.

In this version of My LopeLife, the GCU Today feature in which students, faculty, staff and alumni share enlightening experiences, we hear from two doctoral graduates with a lot to say about that journey. The 9 a.m. Friday ceremony also included master’s graduates from the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, so their chance to reminisce and advise is here as well. 

Photos by Ralph Freso GCU News Bureau The 2 p.m. Friday ceremony at Fall Commencement was reserved for bachelor’s degree candidates in the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions. 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: GCU reaches 1,000 signed doctoral dissertations 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

Photos by Mathew McGraw GCU News Bureau The College of Doctoral Studies and master’s graduates from the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions were featured Friday at the 9 a.m. ceremony during Fall Commencement at Grand Canyon University. 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: GCU reaches 1,000 signed doctoral dissertations 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

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.”

The second One Foundation Lunch and Learn of the fall semester finished the discussion on human value and dignity and featured some excellent examples by faculty from the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions. Faculty are urged to make sure the next session, scheduled for Friday, Nov. 8, is on their calendar.

Denise Matus, Immersive Simulation Facilitator in the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, is known for her sense of humor and the way she says things. She loves it when students come back after graduation and remember how she taught them a particular concept. Her outside interests include kickboxing, and she dreams of trying something that has a punchline.

Stephanie Herrick Kays, Graduate Simulation Manager in the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, has strong feelings about access to medical care and, as a result, wants to create nurse practitioners who will be change agents.

Women can be leaders too, if they set their mind to it. That is why Miss Arizona and Honors College Alumna Jacqueline Thomas’ LLC and blog Lady Leaders partnered with GCU’s Honors college to host the Empowering Female Leaders Panel. Thomas brought several strong GCU women in leadership positions, such as the College of Nursing and Health Care professions Dean Dr. Lisa Smith, Executive Vice President of GCU Sarah Boeder and Vice President of Faculty Operations Kelly Palese, to help empower young women on campus to unlock their leadership potential. “Lady Leaders is committed to providing tangible resources, tools and mentors for women,” Thomas said. “Now that I have been blessed with this network and resources, I want to be able to give it back. That’s the soul purpose for these lady leader panels.”