College of Nursing & Health Care Professions

Photos by David Kadlubowski GCU News Bureau The Tuesday morning ceremony for Spring Commencement at Grand Canyon University featured graduates of the College of Nursing and Health Professions; College of Science, Engineering and Technology; and College of Theology. Elaina Marchegger of the College of Theology was the student speaker.    

Taylor White, a trip leader for GCU’s Outdoor Recreation Program and aspiring athletic trainer, always was looking for the next adventure. He lived life big and bold. He lived life to the fullest. But that adventurous spirit was extinguished when White was struck by an SUV and killed while on a nighttime jog with a friend on April 8, 2018, just three weeks before he was to marry fellow GCU student Sarah Tedeschi. Three years later, to the day, the Phoenix Police Department announced that two suspects were arrested in the hit-and-run case — suspects that Taylor’s parents, Angela and Nate, have chosen to forgive while also seeking justice for their son. “We have to (forgive), for the good of ourselves,” said Nate, “because we cannot hold that.”

Marc Eilers has a neat job — he teaches athletic training in the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions. He’s also a neatnik and says his fellow faculty members will attest to that. Eilers is passionate about the proper way to evaluate a patient and how to mimic a practical evaluation, and he’s enjoying two life-changing recent developments.

There were innovations aplenty as GCU dealt with the pandemic. But none of the required alterations were more visible than the cutouts in GCU Arena, where the basketball environment still was plenty loud enough to be noticed by visiting coaches. Reprinted from the February issue of GCU Magazine.

Candace Stillman, an adjunct faculty member of the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, applies to her teaching the techniques she learned in overcoming childhood learning challenges. She takes great pains to make sure the coursework is meaningful to students and takes delight in sharing a particular phrase about how God operates.

Dr. Penny Lee, a member of the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions faculty, loves nursing and everything that goes along with it. As a nurse practitioner in a pediatric clinic, she takes great joy in helping people make educated decisions about their health and promoting a healthy lifestyle. As an instructor, she is eager to help students improve their assessment skills. Find out her connection to the Beatles.

The first day of the Kevin McClean Research Colloquium featured nine impressive presentations, but the three by students on desert plants were the talk of the attendees. “Those kids were impressive, good gravy,” said one of the other presenters, College of Education Professor Jena Akard. The colloquium continues at 3 p.m. Thursday with eight more presentations.

There will be so many presentations at the fourth annual Kevin McClean Research Colloquium, it will take two days for them to all be shared. The colloquium will begin at 3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, will be entirely online and will feature five GCU students as well as a wide array of faculty members. It is the fulfillment of McClean’s wish to see the event grow.

Strategic Employer Initiatives and Internships (SEI) handed out Career Advisor of the Year awards to 12 faculty members who regularly turn their classrooms into career factories. SEI’s devotion to linking students to employers also is reflected in its ever expanding list of offerings, such as the recent Career Awareness Week. “We all know we have great students. We all know they’re going places. We’re just trying to connect the dots and support their journey in getting there,” said Haley Fagerlie, SEI’s Executive Director.

When Dignity Health needed help at the last minute at its East Valley COVID vaccine Point of Dispensing site, GCU’s nursing students stepped up in a big way. Thirty-one Level 3 and Level 4 nursing students immediately volunteered. Dignity and St. Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center officials were so impressed with the students and so grateful for their help, the hospital gave them high-quality stethoscopes. Nursing instructor Kelly Schaefer wasn’t surprised at the students’ performance at the site. They always “resolutely serve with joy,” she said.