Online Life

Five years, 13 operations and yet another leg amputation later, and Eric Gabriel has reached the finish line on his journey to earning his doctoral degree. After living with one leg for the past 25 years, Gabriel learned in November to adjust to life with no legs, all while finishing up his doctoral studies. “If I didn’t have GCU and my schoolwork to do, I would have gone crazy. You know I don’t even know where I would be today,” he said.

Members of the College of Education are praying for Joe Popma, an adjunct faculty member since 1994 who is battling cancer. Popma, who has been teaching for 66 years, worked as faculty in GCU’s first distance learning program, which delivered content via VHS tape, and helped develop GCU’s first online program, M.Ed. in Education Administration. He also was a faculty supervisor for teacher candidates as well as principal interns.

Editor’s note: This story is reprinted from the February issue of GCU Magazine. To view the digital version, click here.  By Lana Sweeten-Shults GCU Magazine Say “senior” on a college campus and a picture emerges of students distracted by picking out their cap and gown as they study for finals. But Judith Cobb of Columbus, Ohio, isn’t the typical senior. The 82-year-old nurse who has retired twice decided that any kind of restful retirement just wasn’t for her. Instead, she barreled forward and returned to college, enrolling in Grand Canyon University’s master’s degree program in Addiction Counseling in May 2018. It wasn’t the first time she has sought an “encore education.” “I was always older than the instructors,” Cobb said with a laugh. “I got my bachelor’s degree in ’97 when I was 61, and I was 52 years old when I got my first degree (an associate’s degree).” Cobb retired from community health nursing in 2005, when she was 69. But rather than downshift, she landed a job with Columbus Public Health, where she worked until 2010. Not eager to rest on her laurels, Cobb said her ears perked up when one of the sisters in her professional nursing […]

Mark Snyder, President of Snyder Nationwide Real Estate, spoke to graduate and Hospitality Management students Thursday about he injects his faith into the business world. “I’m going to do what’s right every time,” he said. “I pursue God daily. God’s the kingmaker, not your talents.”

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.”