Online Life

Mark Rosewaren won’t be on campus for homecoming Saturday, but he’ll be there in spirit — even though he’s on Air Force duty in Afghanistan. But what makes his story interesting is his reaction after receiving some serious GCU swag.

Hagir Elsheikh, one of five inductees into the GCU Hall of Fame on Saturday, is a domestic violence activist and TV and radio talk show host in Pennsylvania and has founded a staffing agency and a nonprofit that helps victims of violence. But long before she accomplished any of that, she had to flee the political violence in Sudan and survive domestic violence in her own life. She was an online nursing student before getting her degree in 2012, and she visit campus for the first time Saturday.

Two proteges of Dr. Kelly Damron of the Colangelo College of Business, Carlos Canchola and Meghan Metzger, each earned a $1,500 scholarship from the Accounting advisory board. For the students, it’s another step toward taking the Certified Public Accountant exam. For Damron, it’s two more examples of how she inspires students.

The Colangelo College of Business Dean’s Speaker Series kicked off for the spring semester Thursday, and first up was someone who has first-hand experience of what it’s like to go from the corporate world to a startup. Rachel Mertensmeyer explained to students what it takes to succeed besides the guts to take a chance.

It’s a legacy as big as the state of Texas: Kelly Taylor and five other members of her family have been online students at GCU since 2011. “I think the support system with GCU makes working on a degree much easier,” said Tammy Jones, one family member, who encouraged her mother, then 75 years old, and daughter to also become Lopes.

Jeff Barton, a university development counselor in Gilroy, Calif., took his family to a Lopes on the Road event at San Jose State this fall and was amazed by the big turnout of Lopes fans. “None of us knew each other,” he said, “but it was really neat school spirit.”

The November issue of GCU Magazine, available digitally here, explains in detail how the University’s Christian worldview governs its approach to teaching science. Senior writer Lana Sweeten-Shults’ in-depth report includes two other stories, on a virtual-reality project students are doing to bring the Bible to life and on students’ responses to an end-of-course survey asking how GCU’s integration of faith and science affected their personal faith. Other stories in this issue include inside looks at a growing trend in the Worship Arts program, basketball star Alessandro Lever’s improbable transition from Italy to GCU, the popularity of the new esports facility in the Technology Building, and how the College of Humanities and Social Sciences helped a student earn and then prosper in a major New York internship. 

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.

Photos by David Kadlubowski and Travis Neely GCU News Bureau The final fall commencement ceremony at Grand Canyon University was solely for the College of Education. There were 725 graduates participating Saturday afternoon.