Colleges

The Eta Chi chapter of Delta Mu Delta, which achieved Star status (top 5 percent of all chapters) in August, added 132 members Wednesday, 24 of whom were on hand for the induction ceremony. “Delta Mu Delta confirms that you have a proven track record of academic achievement,” said Conner Teich, the chapter’s president.

Alyssa Moran goes a little old-school in her calligraphy-inspired artwork. Yesenia Thomas spent a summer working at Phil Vischer Enterprises (Vischer is known for the animated series “VeggieTales”). Loren Jaxson was inspired to create more than 70 cards inspired by mythology. All displayed the artwork they created during their time at GCU in the Senior Design Showcase on Tuesday. It’s the culmination of their studies at the University, just before they walk the graduation stage on Friday.

It didn’t quite look like the typical finals week in instructor Li Tan’s Principles of Mechanical Design class. Students in his class took over the courtyard area outside of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology Building Tuesday to test the results of their class project — to design remote-control cars. Teams of four used SolidWorks to design their vehicles and then put them through the rigor of a speed race course and obstacle course. “They had to pass all the different terrains to satisfy the design concept. During this process, they’re able to learn the basic principles of design,” said Tan.

Playing poker not only can be fun, it can provide a learning opportunity. And the bonus lesson for GCU math students amid their semi-annual Poker Day was seeing their instructors in a different environment. “It is fun to see the professor as a person instead of a teacher,’’ said Computer Science major Jeremy Mog.

Bill Palowski served in the Air Force for 23 years. Christina Herman was a GCU student who changed her major three times and wasn’t sure what she wanted to do as a career. But after immersing themselves in four months in GCU’s Java Certificate Program, the new coders both were hired, before graduation, by a large technology consulting firm. They are examples of the success of the program, which made its debut this year. Palowski, Herman and five other Java boot camp students are finishing the camp Friday and held a showcase this week for industry leaders.

Eight students performed on Wednesday evening in the Speech and Debate Showcase. The event was highlighted by an emotional speech by Keliann Nash about her brother, and it featured the quick preparation skills of Tommee Gleason. “Several members of the audience were moved by the performances they saw, and that speaks to the power the students have in conveying emotions via their performance,” Director of Forensics Michael Dvorak said.

The Colangelo College of Business has yet another big name on its roster of industry experts. Mindy Weinstein, who owns her own digital marketing company, recently won an award from a prominent website for having the most page views of the month for a column she wrote, and she also is a highly regarded speaker at workshops.

On the heels of performing Handel’s “Messiah” and various faculty and student recitals, the busy GCU Music Department is at it again, this time readying itself for its annual Christmas concert. The Canyon Chorale and Critical Mass will perform everything from Arnesen’s “Magnificat,” which centers around the text of Luke 2 and the birth of Jesus, to a medley of holiday tunes from popular a cappella group Pentatonix. The concert begins at 7 Thursday night at First Southern Baptist Church of Phoenix.

Dancers will look as if they’re walking on walls. They’ll leap elegantly and athletically in the air in classic ballet movements. They’ll create precise lines. All of those stylistic movements will unfurl at Ethington Dance Ensemble’s Winter Dance Concert, to be performed this weekend at Ethington Theatre.

The December 2018 graduates of the College of Education celebrated the end of their student-teaching experiences on Monday night, reflected on what they learned and expressed their appreciation for the COE faculty who thoroughly prepared them to teach. “I knew teachers did a lot and I knew how much I loved and appreciated them, but you don’t really, truly understand how much you love teachers until you have to be in the position to teach,’’ said elementary education aspiring teacher Sarah Schalick.