Online Life

Instead of making a trip to northern Arizona for a wine-tasting tour, Andrea Baranyk and her bridesmaids will start their Saturday on the GCU campus, exercising and sweating for a good cause.

The University has been connecting with capacity crowds on one of Christian music’s biggest tours, and its message of an affordable, private college education is coming through loud and clear.

With a Feb. 1 deadline looming for the Canyon Challenge, representatives from Scottsdale-based Tallwave visited campus to share tips with those planning to enter the competition.

Scalpers have no chance of prying two tickets to the Inaugural Ball from the hands of GCU Professor Shica Little, who will be attending the event Monday night in Washington, D.C.

Speakers were Dr. Brian Smith, director of the Colangelo School of Sports Business; Mary Ponce, an adjunct online instructor; and Dr. Tim Larkin, an associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Linzy Hoffmann, the 5-year-old daughter of GCU online student Jessica Smith, is struggling with a rare disease and is given little chance of surviving the medical challenges ahead of her. So when the family recently had their Christmas lights and decorations stolen, the Phoenix Police Department came to the rescue to save a big part of their Christmas.

GCU News Bureau Senior Writer Michael Ferraresi is also a first-time online student at GCU. He shares his experiences being part of the online classroom as he juggles work, family, classes and bad posture.

Shica Little has done a lot of things in her life, including an appearance in a national TV commercial and competing on a televised cooking show. But her meeting with President Obama is what she considers “my bragging rights.”

Melanie Glaze, who earned a master’s degree from GCU in 2009, went from cleaning offices to a career in nursing and even persuaded her mother, then in her late 40s, to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse.

There are enthusiastic graduates from GCU — and then there is Marian Barry. The College of Nursing grad took commencement ceremonies to a whole new level on a blistering, 112-degree day in Mesa, accepting her master’s degree in an unusual way.