As GCU’s senior vice president of campus operations, Sarah Boeder makes things happen. She oversees admissions, academic counseling and finance counseling and everything they involve.
As hectic as that might sound, she is definitely the woman for the job.
“My job is different every day — and all the people are fun!” says the unfailingly upbeat Boeder.
Married for 10 years and the mother of two children, ages 6 and 4, Boeder has been with the University for three years and held a variety of positions in that time.
“I worked for (CEO) Brian Mueller and (Executive Vice President) Stan Meyer for years prior to coming to GCU,” she says. “Once I became aware of the University’s Christian mission, I knew I had to be a part of it. My life hasn’t been the same since.”
For the first couple of years, Boeder worked with online students. She says she draws on her faith as an employee, although she hasn’t always been a Christian, giving her heart to Christ at age 14.
In November, she will travel to Israel — her first adventure overseas. She’ll see Holy Land highlights every day for two weeks and be baptized in the Jordan River.
“I have a feeling I’ll be crying a lot,” she says.
Currently, she is copying down the entire Bible, word for word. By writing it out, she says, the words stick with her. It also helps her prioritize her relationship with God and is valuable as a stress reliever.
“I was going pretty fast at first,” she says, “but then I realized I need to slow down and really embrace every part of it.”
Boeder says she wants to be known as someone who is “honest, filled with the Spirit, passionate (and) approachable.” There’s no guessing or trying to figure her out — what you see is what you get — and that makes her the type of person students would want to seek out.
Outside of her office, you can find her at the noon-hour “boot camp” exercise class in the Student Recreation Center. Or at Christian-music concerts all over metropolitan Phoenix.
Christian music “connects with me on a whole different level,” she says.
Boeder’s team is working toward an integrated service model that will bring all students together, make processes more fluid and build bridges between departments.
“That way, we’re on the same page, working toward the same thing — the students at the top,” Boeder says.
She’s also encouraging students to participate in an October survey from Student Services.
“In late October, we’ll be hosting some student focus groups to help us understand any information in the survey that we want more feedback on,” she says. “I am open and available to meet with students one-on-one if they would like to meet with me for any reason.”
Students interested in meeting with Boeder should call her at 639.7022 or email [email protected].
Anissa Rowe earned her BA in English Literature from GCU in 2011. She is now working full time in GCU's accounting department and pursuing photography and writing.
