Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow
Anya Morrison and her mom, Christine? They’re charcuterie board imposters.
“We faked doing one. We just threw meat and cheese on a tray,” said Christine at Saturday’s Family Weekend charcuterie board class in Thunderground at Grand Canyon University.
“We pretend we’re good at it,” Anya piped in, but we’re not.”
The Morrisons were among about 120 ready to delve into the art of making platters look pretty by decorating them with deli meats, cheeses and fruit, in a class taught by Abigail Schlesinger. The marketing and advertising major and entrepreneurial studies minor started her own business, the Charcuterie Collective, when she was just 16 years old.
Four years later and business is booming.
“It was a family tradition of ours (to make charcuterie boards),” said Schlesinger, who has taught charcuterie artist wannabes all over Arizona to make salami roses, prosciutto ribbons, blackberry jam-filled brie cutouts and the like.
She has helmed classes at Arizona State, the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University, “But never at my own university. … So we were super excited when they approached us.”
It seemed perfect that the class happened over Family Weekend, since her own family – mom Lindsay and dad Josh – were by her side, though her brother, “the only 18-year-old boy I know who can make a beautiful salami rose,” Schlesinger said, was not, as he’s on a nine-month mission trip in Guatemala.
“We work every weekend for her. She does this every day,” said Lindsay. “We have events going on outside of GCU today. We spend a lot of time as a family doing the business.”
Lindsay said it’s wonderful seeing Abigail in her element, “just seeing your daughter is a success. She goes full-in.”
And on Saturday, so did the Morrisons.
Christine, who traveled from Minnesota for Family Weekend, wanted to learn to make a salami rose. As it turns out, the secret sauce is using a shot glass to fashion it.
One of the events she attended with Anya, a freshman forensic psychology major and Spanish minor, was Family Weekend Chapel to hear President Brian Mueller speak.
“I wish more parents could hear more of the vision-casting of the university … He (Mueller) spoke about how God puts himself in places where we need Him, how God has been moving in this area,” said Christine.
She loves how GCU serves the inner city community around it and hearing about its work with Habitat for Humanity and GCU CityServe.
And she loves coming to see her daughter. The trip from Minnesota was long but worth it. “It’s a long time between hugs; we’re half Greek, we’re very huggy,” Christine said.
A few tables away, Ethan Mancilla was protesting: “Dad! Dad! You’re sharing salami slices. You’re supposed to use all of your salami! Look at my rose!”
Ethan, whose brother Aidan is studying finance at GCU, wasn’t expecting to be taking a charcuterie class.
“My dad and mom signed us up and said I had to do it,” said Aidan, who lives on campus.
Their dad, Gilbert, said they wanted to explore the campus a little more this year, their second year at Family Weekend, and so the class seemed perfect.
“We came just to see him,” even though the family is local and sees Aidan often. “It’s nice to see him in his environment. He’s more comfortable here this year.”
Then Schlesinger, who was at the front of the class, declared, “Open up your crackers!” followed by the plastic crunch, crunch, crunch sound of 100-plus plastic cracker sleeves being opened.
This was the first time Welcome Programs hosted Family Weekend, two days of events, from a 5K, to lab and campus tours, to the big event-ending family barbecue (and sauce boss competition to see which dad could make the best barbecue sauce).
The weekend is strategically timed for about six weeks after the start of school to give students time to settle into college life and be well on their way before reuniting with family.
Welcome Programs Operations Manager Alden Sia said with a smile, “It’s the only time kids aren’t embarrassed to be seen with their parents,” since everyone’s family is here. Her favorite part of the weekend was seeing one family who held cutouts of their Lope’s face at a club soccer game.
“I really loved the energy,” added Charity Norman, Welcome Programs director. “Just seeing parents come back to their students is really fun to see.”
It was easy to feel that energy firing up outside Thunderground, where the Spirit team gathered for its game day parade to Global Credit Union Arena, though there wasn’t a game that day.
Yet it was a tradition the Spirit team was teaching to the youth who had just completed cheer, dance and stunt clinics.
Dance team members Ava Reiser and Olivia Studdard were at the front of the line teaching the young girls next to them pom motion – how to get the best razzle dazzle out of your pompoms.
“We taught them different aspects of game day and dance technique,” said Reiser, a freshman pre-pharmacy student. “I loved watching them learn about what we do and seeing them get so excited.”
Studdard, an Honors entrepreneurial studies major and dance performance minor, said her favorite part of working with the young girls at clinic was “hearing about where they come from” and about their dance journey.
Then the Thundering Heard Pep Band started playing and the parade was off, heading toward the Lope Shop.
It’s where the campus retailer was prepping for the Thunderbolt shopping spree, in which one winner gets 30 seconds to shop, although this year, the Lope Shop added 7.5 seconds to the clock in honor of the university’s 75th anniversary. Whatever the winner grabs, they keep.
Ava Sunkel, a freshman legal studies student, flew furiously through the store in place of her mom, Michelle, whose name was drawn.
Her load amounted to $572.72 worth of items.
Unlike past Thunder Bolt winners, she didn’t just snag everything within reach. There was a method to her madness. She scoped the Lope Shop earlier and knew what she wanted.
What was the most fun for her?
“The adrenaline,” Ava said. “And forgetting what I wanted to grab.”
Though she did remember to get a baseball jersey for her brother Jackson and an oversized Noggin Boss hat for brother Cooper.
Her dad, Mark, who didn’t witness the melee of the Thunderbolt but met up with Ava, Jackson and Cooper afterward said he was surprised she won.
“She was so excited,” he said, before heading to the Family Weekend barbecue, then asked Ava, “Did you get me anything?”
Manager of Internal Communications Lana Sweeten-Shults can be reached at [email protected] or at 602-639-7901.
**
Related content:
GCU News: Lope families show off their purple pride for GCU’s Family Weekend
GCU News: Welcome Week thrice as nice thanks to a trio of big events
