Recent News

Not many college students get to perform in a venue as big as the 7,000-capacity Grand Canyon University Arena. But that’s not the only boon of performing with the University’s three eight-member Worship Team bands. The student musicians and vocalists also refine their craft, connect with students during Chapel and The Gathering, become family with the close-knit group of Worship Team musicians and, of course, inspire those who listen with messages of faith.

Lori Browning, Grand Canyon University’s Senior Vice President and Controller, was named Controller of the Year by Financial Executives International.

Alberta May flew into Phoenix to visit the campus during a Destination GCU event but ended up doing much more than that. She also used her skills as a nurse to help out in, not one, but two medical situations that arose on the flight. May, who is from Marshall, Texas, is furthering her education as an online student, hoping to earn her bachelor’s degree in nursing.

GCU’s Robotics Club left Louisville’s Kentucky Exposition Center to decompress after failing to advance to the final matches of the VEX Robotics World Finals — an international event featuring about 1,100 teams from middle-school to collegiate levels. But then they heard they left a little early — the team ended up winning the Judges Award, given to a team who the judges think are deserving of special recognition.

Alpha Chi, the national honors society, gave its Outstanding Chapter Sponsor award to Honors College Assistant Dean Breanna Naegeli at its national convention last month. Naegeli has worked hard to grow GCU’s chapter, and it sent a record number of representatives to the conference — including three who did presentations.

It wasn’t just another great year for the Speech and Debate team at Grand Canyon University — it was the team’s best year ever. GCU finished 19th and had a top-eight team in a national debate event last month, then had two top-48 finishers in a national speech event.

Paige Estrada traveled almost six hours from her home in Apple Valley, Calif., to GCU to walk across the stage on Friday and get her master’s degree degree. So even when the 22-year-old emergency room nurse, who is 36 weeks into her pregnancy, started feeling regular contractions just 2 hours before the ceremony, she was still determined to make it across the stage.

The MBA program at Grand Canyon University was so beneficial to Mario B. Avery, it played a key role in his success with projects he tackled as mayor of Fairburn, Ga. — such as a fall festival that grew to attract 25,000 people. “It would have been virtually impossible for the city’s staff and myself to successfully manage an event this size without using some of the valuable tools I acquired from GCU,” he said.

Kimberly Rabanal was five months pregnant when she decided to go back to school. Just three months later, her father was diagnosed with brain cancer. But that didn’t deter her; it motivated her to work even harder. Rabanal was one of the candidates for a master’s degree in nursing at Friday’s afternoon commencement ceremony.

One of the participants at commencement Friday knows the Grand Canyon University campus far better than most online students. Tatiana Parada lived on campus for her first two years but then moved to Los Angeles to get married. But she still completed her degree and raves about both the traditional and the online programs.