Honors College

Graduates of the online program at Grand Canyon University always have inspirational stories to tell, and this year they were equally inspired by keynote speaker Gian-Paul Gonzalez’s talk — and by the celebration that is a GCU commencement ceremony.

If the graduates at fall commencement didn’t know about ninth-grade world history teacher and New York Giants chaplain Gian-Paul Gonzalez before they got to GCU Arena, they sure do now. Gonzalez’s keynote addresses at the five ceremonies were a hit every time, and in addition to all the standing ovations he also was descended upon by a sea of thankful listeners when he came out to watch the “tunnel walk” after the Saturday morning ceremony.

A trio of Grand Canyon University students are accelerating their dream of eliminating the middle man for impoverished Peruvian coffee farmers. They will take their ideas to the Clinton Global Initiative University, a conference this weekend at the University of Chicago. “I think it is awesome to be able to see future world leaders, entrepreneurs and changers in one central location,’’ said Noah Wolfe, who has combined with Tim McGill and Aly Halbakken to form a nonprofit, Novella.

You have one minute: Rant on the topic of “Pockets.” Go! It was just one of the activities freshman engineering students tackled in Excellence in Engineering, a series of six workshops covering everything from resume-building to handling stress and public speaking. The workshops, led by engineering students, also are designed to build a sense of community in the department.

GCU’s ROTC program has more students than ever and a new leader who is focused on getting the cadets more involved in University events. “ROTC is a development program that trains people to be adaptive leaders of character,” said Capt. Mia Odom, who started at GCU this fall. “There are a lot of opportunities within ROTC. It’s a place for people who want to learn and grow and become leaders and critical thinkers.”

GCU students use multiple modes of transportation to traverse campus, from new-age electric bikes to swift skateboards to colorful beach cruiser bikes to old-fashioned lace up roller skates — the Lopes know how to get around.

Story by Ryan Kryska Photo by David Kadlubowski GCU News Bureau Nothing was different about the traffic at the 35th Avenue and Camelback Road intersection on Wednesday evening: cars, trucks and buses, work vehicles and family vans, people crossing the road, the sun in your eyes heading west. But not lost in the heart of it all was a hue. On the north sidewalk, three groups of teen boys carried basketballs, shoes and gym bags across the intersection on their way east to Grand Canyon University. They were headed to the Ball Out Phoenix basketball developmental camp at GCU Arena, where they’d learn drills, listen to speakers who know what it takes to be successful and meet the kid across town who could turn out to be a best friend. The camp is free, and it’s run by a group of students who are bringing the future of Phoenix down the Camelback sidewalk. “I saw a love for the game and I saw how passionate people would get about simply dribbling a ball,” said Elisha Fronda, a junior Honors student at GCU and founder of Ball Out Phoenix. “I kind of had a different level of how it could make […]

The Honors College mentorship program kicked off last week with an event where freshmen went from “Uh, wow. College,” to, “I am not on my own.” The college’s FLIGHT program pairs freshmen with upperclassmen who have gone down a path similar to the one they have in mind. Teresita Figueroa, a senior pre-med major who for the past seven years has volunteered at a hospital, took freshman pre-med major Hadassah Gates under her wing.

GCU is always evolving, with new buildings rising up and offices and colleges moving to new spaces. All the change makes for an interesting first-day of class. The GCU News team fanned out on Monday to talk to students, professors and even the Success Patrol and Academic Career Excellence Centers, who there there to make sure students found their classrooms.

Story and photos by Ryan Kryska GCU News Bureau Grand Canyon University took center stage Friday morning on local news as AZFamily 3TV visited campus for multiple live segments. 3TV reporters Javier Soto and Olivia Fierro arrived at 7 a.m., in time to witness the relentless Welcome Crew volunteers move in the last of GCU’s record-breaking enrollment. “I got to tell you, I’ve been to universities, I’ve been to move-in days,” Soto said. “The excitement here, you can feel it, and I think that’s what’s awesome about GCU.” The Thundering Heard Pep Band, Dance team, Cheer team and the Havocs — a tireless bunch of Lopes — followed the live segments into the heat all morning. Soto and Fierro interviewed President Brian Mueller, Phoenix business icon Jerry Colangelo, men’s soccer coach Schellas Hyndman, students and various others, and they even tried some white pizza and Baja shrimp ceviche from Canyon 49 Grill’s new menu. “These kids are on a whole other level,” Soto said, “and I think that has a lot do with the curriculum and the faculty getting them to buy into it where they have their own thought process. They are thinking beyond the information that they are […]