Grand Canyon University alumna Becca Applegate, who graduated from GCU in 2019 with a Christian studies degree emphasizing youth ministry, will play a prominent role in helping promote Christian character formation at the university, specifically working with students.
The GCU Christian Studies graduate coordinated events with about 400 students and supervised student workers while earning her master’s degree, and she'll use those skills as program coordinator for the Canyon Center for Character Education.
The center is fostering Christian character education in its 10 colleges, Student Life and Athletics, thanks largely to a $10.7 million grant from the Kern Family Foundation.
“It truly did feel like just everything aligning,” Applegate said while sitting comfortably behind her desk at the character center in the Colangelo College of Business. “Because I very much believe in every single thing that you experience and you go through in your life, it leads you to where you're meant to go.
“I feel like I have a very eclectic experience, and so to see all of those come together in this position was really, really exciting.”
One of Applegate’s first duties was connecting with Spiritual Life, Residence Life, the Ingram Honors College and Athletics.
“There really is an opportunity in the next few years for us to mobilize in as many student-facing areas as we can, even when there are overlapping areas of work,” said Dr. Peter Anderson, the center's executive director. “Becca and I've already been talking about how does a faculty or staff member mentor students? Becca could get involved there or help mobilize and empower student leaders, life leaders and resident advisors to shape the character of students they engage with.”
While earning her master’s degree in communication at Arizona State, Applegate worked as a student engagement specialist at Barrett Honors College for three years. She also worked as a substitute teacher at an elementary school in Phoenix.
“There's a hand-in-glove fit for her to step from there (Barrett Honors College) to here,” Anderson said. “All the work she'd done with programming there, even the way that she led student workers there, is going to be a kind of culture we want to build out in this larger ecosystem of character formation we're trying to support at the university out of the center.
“Becca brings a lot of that skill set and practical tools to the table. Also, she has a ministry background, so that's also important for her when we think about the spiritual formation work of shaping Christian character. She’s written teaching resources and done formation work with intergenerational audiences. These are skills that will help us with online students that are largely not only college age but are across a wide variety of life circumstances and situations.
“She brings some experience there to connect with different populations of students across different life experiences that will really be valuable for us to make a formative impact.”
Despite her familiarity with GCU as a student, Applegate is in listening mode as she works on strengthening partnerships and expanding the character center's reach to achieve the goal of “pouring into students and creating future leaders and incredible people who are going to change the world.”
“I'll speak specifically to the online student group,” Applegate said. “We looked at this group and thought, ‘This is such a really difficult group to reach, and it's something that's already been successful. How can we make it better?’
“So I think it’s coming in and evaluating for the first few months, just to see what is already working, and then how can it be a partnership?”
Applegate seemed receptive to any opportunities while studying for her master’s and working with large groups of students.
“I just know that I've always had a passion for working with young people,” Applegate said. “I have always seen them as they're really going to change the world. It's really exciting to get to walk alongside them, partner with them and create experiences that really just make their eyes light up or make them remember something about their college experience.
“And it's just a very cool opportunity because these are going to be the future leaders, the presidents and business owners and all the incredible things in the world in the future, and you get to have a small part in that right now.”
Anderson is grateful for the support of GCU President Brian Mueller, Provost Dr. Randy Gibb and the Kern Family Foundation. He sees the center's mission over the next five years as an opportunity, not a challenge.
“There really is such a hunger for us to be who we say we are, and Christian character is a way for us to exemplify our mission as a university,” Anderson said. “We see that here in the center. That's the opportunity we have.
… “We were positioned really well to do something really significant with a lot of impact. Our goal at this point is to steward it faithfully and make wise decisions that really contribute to the well-being and flourishing of students and communities around us.”
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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