Grand Canyon University

Law school was compared to the movie “Hunger Games.” All the best and brightest fighting it out on curved grading. But add to that the challenges of being a minority, and GCU students found out the challenges they can expect during the Los Abogados Hispanic Bar Association’s panel discussion “Unique Challenges and Opportunities for Hispanic Practitioners of Law” on Tuesday.

Lopes Teach Up Week runs through Wednesday and is focused on helping students secure teaching positions and advocating for teaching and education professions. The Provost Speaker Series event on Monday, “Teacher Advocacy and Self-Care,” included a panel discussion on advocating for yourself.

Parents can shame a child to make them stop bad behavior. It might work in the short term but can have long-term negative consequences. As behavioral health professionals, the challenge is telling clients how to stop shaming, and that’s what Ryan Sheade and Erica Tatum-Sheade explored with clinicians at GCU’s Third Annual Behavioral Health Conference Friday.

GCU News Bureau GCU computer science student Jamie Graham recently attended the Grace Hopper Celebration conference in Orlando, Fla. The event is the world’s largest gathering of women technologists and is produced by AnitaB.org and presented in partnership with the Association in Computing Machinery. Graham said she was “excited for this educational opportunity” and hoped to build strong connections with other software engineers. She was able to attend the conference after winning an all-expenses-paid scholarship from Checkr, a background check company using artificial intelligence and machine learning. Her essay and application propelled her past more than 300 other applicants for the scholarship.

What started as a preceptorship would eventually grow into an unbreakable friendship and an opportunity for both Dr. Viola Pierce and Dr. Brittany Bass to graduate with their Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees together at Grand Canyon University’s Fall Commencement ceremony. The pair started the program together and graduated together, surrounded by each of their families. “We went through the entire program together, so this is special for us and I love her dearly,” Pierce said.

Students got a chance to hear about the everyday life of therapists at the Behavioral Health Science Career Panel on Thursday. It was inspiring to those who want to help others. “You get to bear witness to the journeys they are on. You get to validate that you get to assure your clients that, guess what, you are not alone,” said Seth Strawn, a GCU alumnus who returned to talk to students about his work as a therapist.

GCU produced a long list of teachers and administrators with master’s degrees at the Friday evening Commencement ceremony, and their My LopeLife stories reflect their passion for what they do. As one put it, “I continuously ask myself, ‘What can I do differently to enrich my students’ learning?'”

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.

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