Editor's note: Dr. Nicholas Markette is a member of the GCU Hall of Fame. See the story here.
Title: Senior Doctoral Adjunct Supervisor, College of Doctoral Studies
Years at GCU: 11
Academic degrees:
- B.S. Finance – Arizona State University
- M.S. Leadership – GCU
- Ed.D. - GCU
What is your most notable accomplishment in your field, and why was it important?
My most notable contribution is helping my learners and my team’s learners graduate. I am blessed to lead a team that helps people achieve their dream of earning a doctorate. Before this academic life, I was in leadership roles in business (i.e., CEO, CFO, etc.). While that was rewarding, it didn’t match sharing commencement with the people you helped. My most notable accomplishments are the people I serve and served and the resulting friendships that developed.
What are you most passionate about in your field and why?
After years of focusing on profit, I retired from business for two reasons: (1) I wanted to have fun, and (2) I wanted to be of value to others. Now, my life revolves around that. I serve students at GCU and I oversee the business of the largest youth sports organization in Arizona (we just started hiring GCU interns). In both roles, I get to have fun and be of value.
Helping people earn their degrees and grow up in a safe sports environment puts my fingerprints on their lives and the lives that follow them. When I am long gone from this earth, those fingerprints will live on. In many cases the next generations won’t know I existed, but the fingerprints will be there. In God’s economy, that’s profit.
What is a memorable moment you had in class, and what does that reveal about your teaching style?
I have had the same experience reoccur several times over the years: My past learners have asked to meet me for help with a life or work problem. I have sat and listened about marital issues, work problems, career choices and much more. In each of these cases, the feeling is a sense of humility. To think, “Wow, they chose to trust me” is humbling and rewarding. Perhaps, the most memorable is the student who came to me because he thought his marriage may be ending. But now, years later, I see social media posts of him, his wife and their new babies.
What do you like to do for fun in your spare time?
I have two avocations outside of the University and youth sports. I practice a full range of martial arts, and I am a trained chef. Weekends are full of sparring matches, fresh pasta, homemade bread and other culinary treats. One of my GCU colleagues and her family were stuck at home with COVID-19, and it was a pleasure leaving homemade lasagna on their doorstep to help out.
What is something interesting about you that most people don't know?
I earned a black belt in jujitsu, and I speak Italian.
