By Rick Vacek
GCU News Bureau
The occasion was the induction ceremony for Grand Canyon University’s Eta Chi chapter of Delta Mu Delta, and Dr. Randy Gibb’s address was the best and most direct explanation of why the business honor society is important.
“As you all go out in the workforce and paint the Valley purple and put GCU alumni in businesses all over the country,” the Dean of the Colangelo College of Business (CCOB) told the new members Wednesday afternoon, “that’s one more thing to look for to help other GCU graduates. If you see Delta Mu Delta on their LinkedIn, on their resume, you know the type of student and type of employee you’re going to be getting.”
Membership, which is for life, is by invitation only for students who completed 24 credits at GCU and who are in the top 20 percent of their class. “It shows you stand out,” said Dr. Moronke Oke, the chapter’s co-advisor along with Tracey Lauterborn (an honorary inductee Wednesday). The chapter added 132 members this semester, and 24 were there for the ceremony – some coming from long distances.
“Delta Mu Delta confirms that you have a proven track record of academic achievement,” Conner Teich, the chapter’s president, said in his remarks at the ceremony. “It shows that you have the knowledge and drive to succeed in your business career.”
The chapter certainly has shown plenty of drive. In August, it was elevated to Star status, which means it meets or exceeds the society’s standards for chapter operation and administration. It also means Eta Chi is in the top 5 percent of chapters, considering that it is one of only 20 chapters to have received the prestigious award out of 354 local and international chapters.
Oke said a big reason for the chapter award was its activity in the community, in addition to conducting the semiannual induction ceremonies and the annual Dr. Kevin McClean Research Colloquium. This fall, the student committee organized and conducted a supplies drive and service project at a local shelter, a social and a speaker series.
The high standards of Delta Mu Delta fall perfectly in line with the CCOB ideals. Again, Gibb said it well in his remarks:
“Remember what we’re all about in the Colangelo College of Business and take this out with you into business and into industry – how you touch people’s lives with your servant leadership, showing initiative, how you demonstrate integrity through your ethics, how you show innovation, which is needed everywhere in our world and in our society through an entrepreneurial mindset, and then in the end business is a force for good.
“You change people’s lives and elevate humanity through business. You create extra value. You run your business in a Christ-like manner and integrate your faith into how you work with people, how you work with customers, how you work with stakeholders.”
The value of Delta Mu Delta membership is such that Laird Sillimon came all the way from Stockton, Calif., for the ceremony even though he was on campus just two months earlier to get his MBA at fall commencement.
Sillimon is Vice President of Operations at Christian Life College in Stockton, and even though earning his master’s from GCU meant what he called “26 months of nonstop living in libraries,” it was worth it.
“It was a great experience – I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he said. “I learned a lot, and everything was very applicable to my job and made me feel more capable of doing my job.”
Doing his job even better is why he came to the Delta Mu Delta ceremony.
“I like to mentor kids and mentor young, flourishing talent,” he said. “I like to consider myself a person who wants to be a teacher of leaders. If I can use it in any way to influence them in that way, that’s what I’d like to do.
“I’m kind of a nerd, academics-wise. I love to encourage kids to do their best, and sometimes they don’t see that in themselves. It helps to have someone believe in you.”
Honorary members of Delta Mu Delta with GCU connections include Jerry Colangelo, President Brian Mueller and Provost Dr. Hank Radda.
In addition to Teich, the other Eta Chi officers are Shannon Walker, Vice President; Rosaura Carrillo-Garcia, Treasurer; Connor Brinton, Secretary; Regan Roth, Marketing and Event Coordinator; and Nick Reidhead, Networking Coordinator. Alyssa Walker, who has been Networking and Events Coordinator, is graduating Friday.
The new members, which include Jeff Orr, one of the speakers in the TEDx event at GCU earlier this year:
Brian David Royston
Anthony Hurtado Jr.
Jennifer M. DeWitt
Magdalena B Bujan
Jonathan Lyle Riedberger
Brian Michael Dillon
Brandy P. De León-Kona
Rebeccah Marie Sylla
Jordyn Rogers
Andrea Kristen Noline
Marissa M. Frias
Lance Christian Zielinski
Tobi Francesca Quain
Meghan Chandler Lloyd
James F. Weeks
Michelle L. Lathon
Jamie Lynn Caldwell
Desmond C. Aladu
Bridget Marvin
Lana Catherine Rinaldi
Grace Morganne Moser
Jazmine Ariel Scroggins
Richard V Lake Jr.
Kylee Lauren Mitchell
Consuelo Olivia Ligus
Vanessa Dian Bryant
David G Minguez
Nada Yousef Al Shibani
Grant D Wood
Matthew Ryan Kanady
David Anthony Chevallard
Amber S Exley Mitchell
Michael P Bradley
Levi Q. Myers
Wendy Michele Hopkins Faber
Jordan Dale Thompson
Nandacia A. Jason
Lucas Grego
Rusty W Johnson
Fernando Ortega III
Gail Jeanette Moxley
Brandon R. Smith
Katelyn Gene Smith
Felipe L. Soriano
Geraldine R Dixon
Luke Russell Elliott
Tracy Lyn Gordon
Regan Jane Fischer
Isabelle Clausen
Caden Williams
Laird Gordon Sillimon
Laurissa Ramirez
Erik Clarillos
Daniel N. Shoup
Mary W. Waweru
Brody Thompson
Darrian Michael McIver
Gabriela Villarreal
Hannah M. Scott
Jennifer Ann Long
Roy Lazaros
Amanda Ego
Philip R. Stigsson
Ana Maria Farr
Brian Christopher Robinson
Caleah Faith Xiong
Sanjiv Girish Faldu
Ra'Lene Teerink
Benjamin David Esh
Justin Brandon Williams
Taylor Torgersen
Stephanie Ann Ruby
Michelle Marie Crawford
Ashley Adam Gagnon
Xiang Li
David L. Jensen
David Erisola Popoola
Camilo Unigarro Guerrero
Mirela Hadzic
Jeanine M. Lewis
Monica M. Bejarano
Joel Renji Kuruvilla
Paisley Layne Miller
William Patrick Lambert
Duane L. Hodgson
Eric Austin Merrill
Misty Dawn Deegan
Mollie Malovoz
Susana Cabrera
Elizabeth Marie Reeve
Phillip Douglas Bates
Takisha Tylise Rowzee
Cassandra Marie Demison
Michelle Kay Wagner
Tchere Christian Meda
Steven Michael Peterson
Nykole Erlinda Vavrick
Reynaldo Mendoza
Sylvia Ann Wester
Marvin C. Scott
Crystal Rae' Baker
Jacob L Amado
Marisa Danielle Alejandro
Samantha Jo Keck
Shannon M. Katris
Janeen Marie Elliott
David Teply
Danielle Marie Rincón
Ryan Mitchell Severyn
Jeff Scott Orr
Chloe Suzette Nanasi
Yvette R. Mendoza
Christopher S Morin
Joseph Carlos Ramirez
Samantha Leigh Stanley
Paul Jay Bumgardner
Isaac M Knepp
Alec Gene Holzer
Cheryl L Hartman
Helen M Soliz
Tavis W Evans
Magaly Judice-Moore
Tracyann Brewton
Samuel Brian Benfer
Isabel Marie Johnson
Evelyn Ruth Greer
Mitchell Blaine Summers
Riwaj Bhattarai
Carolyn Michelle Clegg
Joseph Thomas Steckmann
Andrea Nicole Northup
Regan C. Roth
Corey Snowden
Contact Rick Vacek at (602) 639-8203 or [email protected].
