The Honors College looks back on its legacy: its impressive graduates

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was originally published in the November issue of GCU Magazine. Access the digital version here.

Denisse Delos Santos wanted to be an engineer, but she’s a female and a Filipina, and that raised doubt.

“I don’t see a lot of people that look like me in this industry,” she said.

But with help from Grand Canyon University’s burgeoning Honors College, Delos Santos is just one of thousands of alumni who have blossomed in their respective fields as the college celebrates its 10-year anniversary.

“Being in the Honors College gave me that confidence and perseverance to continue to do what I can,” said Delos Santos, one of GCU’s first electrical engineering graduates.

As an undergraduate, she worked as a student researcher in GCU’s Research and Design Program, helping develop a 3D-printed prosthetic hand. She also supported the “Surviving Engineering 101” retention program, intended to inspire and support first-year engineering students. She frequently presented at the Honors Showcase, tutored high school and college students, and she earned a 4.0 grade point average.

She’s now an engineer at the Salt River Project utilities company.

“It challenged me to be better in terms of improving my skills, not just inside the classroom but outside, as well.”

Under the direction of Dr. Breanna Naegeli, Dean of the Honors College, alums have prospered in an array of professional fields while maintaining the tenets instilled by the program, which transitioned from an institute in 2013 to a full-fledged college two years later.

Dr. Jessica Symmes reflects fondly on her undergraduate years in the Honors College, when she took the lead to help prepare underclassmen to take their HESI exams, a set of standardized tests for prospective nursing students.

“She offered support and guidance on the application process and was continually trying to build up confidence in the next generation to follow her. She has continued this ‘giving back’ effort, even as a DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) and a working professional committed to inspiring and preparing our future workforce,” Naegeli said.

That experience came in handy when Symmes started her nursing career at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Symmes, who earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing from GCU, now teaches an Honors College course for first-year students. Symmes leads the section for nursing students.

“A lot of times nurses that are going through a hard time and are in the trenches of what they’re working in will be quick to tell people, ‘Don’t go into this profession. It’s not worth it,’” said Symmes, a nurse practitioner at Page Family Practice when she’s not teaching at GCU.

“Which is why I’m thankful the Honors College has this course. It allows me to come in and tell future nurses what the profession truly is, and we need that. The truth about it is we need these competent, smart and passionate nurses coming into the field, and I think the Honors College pushes them at an early age to succeed in that.”

Symmes represents a pillar of GCU President Brian Mueller’s push for GCU to fulfill a need for nurses in the next decade.

Dr. Thomas Varkey is a resident physician at the University of Arizona who has produced 50 peer-reviewed articles, thanks to the friendships he cultivated in the Honors College.

“They either became letter writers for me for my medical school (Varkey earned a doctorate in medicine in 2022 from the University of Texas at Austin) or got me involved in different opportunities,” Varkey said. “They also taught me the importance of always saying ‘yes’ to opportunities.

“I became a research scientist as well as a physician as a result of these kinds of lessons and connections.”

Zachary Merhavy, a co-author Varkey met in the Honors College, will serve as a minister at Varkey’s wedding next year, with former classmate John Fernandes serving as a groomsman. Fernandes and Varkey co-authored a guide designed to help doctors treat sick patients whose mental illness raises the risk of self-harm.

Varkey also credits the Honors College in polishing his teaching skills. Varkey was a tutor for two years before becoming an adjunct professor, with hopes of becoming a medical school professor.

Varkey’s passion and success in the Honors College influenced younger brothers John and Philip to follow his path at GCU and today are pursing their doctorates in electrical engineering at Texas A&M and Texas, respectively.

“They were desirous to learn as much as they could and were excellent students within the Honors College,” Varkey said.

Delos Santos’ success in the Honors College and in the engineering profession impacted two younger cousins, Aaron Benedict Cabreira and Yuan Macabale. They interviewed with Naegeli, and “after that, they were very motivated to do more,” Delos Santos said.

The extra effort didn’t hurt, as Cabreira and Macabale were admitted to GCU’s Honors College for the 2024 fall semester. They intend to study electrical engineering.

“That’s basically what I want,” Delos Santos said. “I want to encourage other students and other kids, like I was – especially minorities – to pursue what they want to do with that.”

Getting admitted into the Honors College sometimes isn’t the toughest part.

As a freshman NCAA softball player with an interest in the field of forensic science, Bianca Boling faced time and curriculum constraints.

“It was difficult,” said Boling, who was an Honors College student when she was an undergraduate. “I wouldn’t sugarcoat that.”

Thanks to the understanding of “excellent” professors, Boling said she received frequent one-on-one instruction. She also was placed on a strict schedule that included extra study hall hours and fulfilled the heavy demands with a proper diet and exercise routine.

The demands of an NCAA softball schedule virtually ruled out pursuing forensic science. But psychology was an option, and Boling found a way to blend the two studies and become a clinical forensic psychologist with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

“The Honors College prepared me academically for graduate school,” Boling said. “Critical reasoning and thinking was necessary to be successful for graduate school.”

Despite her time constraints, while she was in the Honors College, she participated in two summertime Global Education Programs, held a leadership role in GCU’s award-winning chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and mentored fellow NCAA student-athletes in the Honors College. 

And Boling wasn’t a member of the Lopes’ softball team just to raise the team’s GPA. She was a Western Athletic Conference Woman of the Year nominee in 2018 and received countless scholarships, such as the Roland L. Beck Scholar-Athlete Award and the WAC Stan Bates Award.

Symmes believes the Honors College “ignites” a learner/teacher continuum that does not block a student from expanding or continuing other pursuits. Symmes points to her resume, which illustrates her profession as a nurse who also teaches an honors course at GCU.

“But I also got a dance minor,” Symmes added.

Varkey served the Honors College as a head tutor in business management and science for a year before becoming an adjunct professor at GCU for five years.

Varkey, Boling, Symmes and Delos Santos each enrolled around the infancy of the Honors College with little to no reservations.

Boling said her time in the Honors College produced an outcome greater than she imagined.

“I thought this sounded like a great opportunity,” Boling said. “So I tried it, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I made.”

Meanwhile, the Honors College provided Delos Santos, who was born in the Philippines, with a springboard to achieve the goals she set and raise her profile.

Delos Santos has gone on to earn dual master’s degrees in business administration and leadership at GCU. And she has worked for SRP for the past 5½ years, the last as a full-time hybrid engineer.

“I was in the Filipino American Journal (in May of 2021) as the first Filipino engineering graduate from GCU, so it was ‘Oh my God, I was so scared in the beginning to do this because of my background,’” Delos Santos recalled. “But through the Honors College, and through GCU and the support system, look at me now.”

Snapshot of the Honors College

Talk about a growth spurt.

In a span of 10 years, Grand Canyon University’s Honors College transformed from a 59-student institute into a robust department of nearly 3,000 students.

Those are convincing distinctions for a program that has produced 2,216 graduates between 2015 and May 2023, including alumni employed at the White House, FBI, IBM, Amazon, Charles Schwab and Edward Jones, according to self-reports, and others continuing their education at institutions such as the Graduate School at Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University Law Center.

“We want learners to feel as though the Honors College is not strictly an academic experience but something that elevates how they develop and prepare for life after college,” said Dr. Breanna Naegeli, who joined the Honors College as its program manager in 2014 and was promoted to dean in April 2022.

Here are some other numbers:

GCU senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected].

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