2019 Commencement

Children often have a lot in common with their parents, but Sydney Teerink and Tori Triguero now have one more thing in common with their parents. Teerink and her mother, GCE employee Ra’Lene, as well as Triguero and her father, Dan, can all now call themselves 2019 GCU graduates.

What started as a preceptorship would eventually grow into an unbreakable friendship and an opportunity for both Dr. Viola Pierce and Dr. Brittany Bass to graduate with their Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees together at Grand Canyon University’s Fall Commencement ceremony. The pair started the program together and graduated together, surrounded by each of their families. “We went through the entire program together, so this is special for us and I love her dearly,” Pierce said.

It’s been two years since the College of Doctoral Studies celebrated the passing of signing it’s 500th dissertation. Now, thanks to the college’s dedication to its learners success, quality faculty and resources, 1,000 dissertations have been signed and another group of doctoral graduates walked across the stage and receive recognition for their academic achievement at last week’s Online Commencement ceremony Friday morning. “The program has been maturing in a lot of ways. We’ve been maturing in how we work with learner, how we set expectations with learners, the strategies that are the most effective. I think we’re getting a better understanding of who our learners are and how we can help them be successful. Because that’s always goal,” College of Doctoral Studies Dean Dr. Michael Berger said. “It’s a major step up in expert and interpersonal power. It’s going to give them a chance to be heard, and we want them out there making change.”

Kirk Cameron’s Fall Commencement keynote address underlines the importance of perseverance. The former “Growing Pains” star and now prominent Christian actor addressed GCU’s most recent group of graduates with congratulations and a powerful message of overcoming fear, fulfilling their mission and finishing the race. “This was really exciting,” Cameron said. “I was a little nervous, I’ve never done it before … I knew with all these Christian families, it was just really a special blessing to be part of this day that they’ll remember for their whole life.”