By Karen Fernau
GCU News Bureau
Grand Canyon University sophomore Victoria Hall set her alarm for 5:30 a.m. Monday but uncharacteristically woke up before the first ring.
“I guess I was more excited than I thought for my first day of classes. It’s back to the grind, but in a good way,” said Hall, a sociology major from Chicago.
Like so many students, faculty and staff, she was exhilarated by the first day of classes.
“It’s the day you realize that campus life is back. There are students everywhere, signs that we really are a vibrant university,” said Edgar Pompa, a technical support specialist at Nerd Herd, the software and hardware support desk in Grand Canyon Beverage Company (GCBC), the student-run coffee shop in the Student Union.
Monday, GCU switched from summer slow to full throttle. There were lines at GCBC for coffee and half-price craft beverages. There was 50-cent-a-game bowling in Thunderground. The Promenade once again was filled with students walking, biking and skateboarding to class. A record 11,000 students are living in GCU residence halls.
For Kim Brewer, Administrative Manager in the Office of Spiritual Life, the return of students “is always a source of inspiration. I look out the window and love seeing students who are so passionate about GCU. They’re back and I’m glad they are.”
Bryce Tennison of Canyon Christian Scholarship Consortium spent Monday morning dressed in an “Ask Me” T-shirt directing students to their classes.
“The first day can be confusing to those new to campus, so we do everything we can to make the first day go smoothly. It’s this kind of support that makes GCU so special,” he said.
Josh Matteson, an adjunct in the College of Theology, also believes the first day matters.
“I like making a connection right away, getting students interested in Christian worldviews from the start,” said Matteson, pastor of Grace Life Church in Scottsdale, after his 7 a.m. class. “A good first impression can make the semester.”
As freshman Monique Garza walked to her first class at GCU, she admitted to first-day jitters.
“It’s not like high school and I’m a little nervous,” said the accounting major from Glendale. “But I’m here for the classes and am sure once the first day is over, everything will feel more familiar. It’s really all very exciting.”
Contact Karen Fernau at (602) 639-8344 or [email protected].
