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By Marette Hahn GCU Career Services If you’ve ever wanted an example of someone who goes above and beyond, Brooke Beckwith exemplifies the go-getter attitude. Beckwith is a sophomore honors student from California who is majoring in business management and has a Spanish minor. A student worker in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, she’s known for working hard and going the extra mile. It all starts with getting up early, at 6 a.m., to start each day off right with classes that start at 7 a.m. Beckwith continues like the Energizer Bunny each day, staying motivated because she loves her job and the responsibilities that come with it. She plays an integral part in GCU’s Health Sciences, Engineering and Technology Day, known as “HSET Day.” The faculty and staff love her and rely on Beckwith greatly, especially to be the eyes and ears of the new engineering building. Her responsibilities as an administrative assistant include answering phones, directing guests, scheduling and special projects. Beckwith also gets the opportunity to apply what she’s learning in her Spanish classes in her job, and she makes trips to Guatemala each summer. When she’s not studying, working or traveling the world she enjoys Java Jam, concerts and Ethington Theatre productions on campus. Hiring manager […]

When a local nonprofit needed help putting together facts and figures about the importance of immediate resuscitation when someone goes into cardiac arrest at assisted-living facilities and the like, it came to the right place: GCU’s Colangelo College of Business. Four Colangelo Scholars helped Dr. Elissa Torres come up with valuable information that produced $200,000 in grants with more on the way.

Some GCU graduates who received their diplomas in Phoenix this weekend used plenty of color, zest and sparkle to turn their mortarboards into expressions of art. The adorned caps shone like beacons amid the mostly black mortarboards graduates sported atop their heads.

The second “Lunch and Learn” in the College of Theology’s Integration of Faith, Learning and Work was called “Communication and the Christian Faith,” and the talk Friday morning by Josh Danaher of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences sparked a lot of discussion. Danaher said that communicating effectively can be difficult at times for everyone, even those who do it for a living, and he suggested ways to be a better listener and, thus, get your message across.

Neither rain nor lightning nor dust storm nor traffic could detract from Grand Canyon University’s online commencement ceremonies Friday and Saturday. Once the attendees were safely inside GCU Arena, which took some doing when the dust started blowing Friday, there were congratulations for a job well done and triumphantly raised fists to signify an impressive achievement.

A Floridian who wanted to be a nurse for as long as she can remember and who has now worked in the field for 30 years this fall joined GCU’s College of Nursing and Health Care Professions as assistant dean. Dr. Lisa Smith is among several new faculty faces who are bringing a wealth of knowledge and variety of experience to the college.

The new Canyon Angels met for the first time Wednesday night, and the investors in attendance got to witness the twist that will make GCU’s group different from others: Student teams shared their due diligence findings on the three startups who did presentations. “This is a cut above,” said one of the investors, GCU adjunct professor David Blackledge.

Sandra Seelhammer of Faribault, Minn., is showing how a degree in Christian studies can be utilized in the working world, and she certainly has a world of work: She’s a mom, an emergency dispatcher and a coordinator for multi-agency response strategies to domestic violence crimes. Yet she still is on course to graduate with honors.

Those zany, exuberant Havocs will take some of their frenzied energy and focus it on five community organizations handling problems ranging from homelessness and hunger to chronic illness and animal welfare. “It’s a win, win, win,” said Christina Wagner, GCU Arena marketing manager.

Mark Mittelberg is a top Christian author and apologist, and he has 20 reasons why it’s illogical to deny the existence of God. The design of the universe, and everything in it, down to the cells in our bodies, is so complex, Mittelberg said, there has to be an “Intelligent Designer” behind it. He laid out those reasons at Chapel Monday morning and, later that evening, at a meeting of the Defenders Club at GCU.