Breanna Naegeli

It’s the same scholarship that has been changing the lives of incoming Honors College students for years, but now it has a new name: the Academic Excellence & Servant Leadership Scholarship. The annual reception for scholarship winners had to be conducted online because of the pandemic. “We wanted these students to have an opportunity to engage with one another and have a moment to reflect on how special this scholarship opportunity really is,” Honors College Associate Dean Dr. Breanna Naegeli said.

Launch Week, the Honors College’s orientation, had to be online because of the pandemic, but Associate Dean Dr. Breanna Naegeli was impressed by the incoming students’ positive participation. “They’re ready to get engaged, and they genuinely don’t care if meeting people is strictly virtual,” she said. Expanding it to two weeks for the first time also proved to be a good move.

The Honors College’s Student Advisory Board, which works as a bridge between faculty and students to put together Honors activities, has even more members this year. It’s quality as well as quantity. Program Manager Dennis Williams calls it “the most phenomenal group we’ve ever had.” Eighth in a nine-part series on each college as the semester begins.

Dr. Breanna Naegeli has worked for the University for almost 11 years and has multiple siblings with GCU degrees, but she couldn’t herself be called an alumna — until now. She successfully defended her dissertation in May and completed her Ph.D. in Performance Psychology.

The abrupt transition of ground classes to the online platform could have weakened the strong bond students have with the Honors College, but its administrators wouldn’t let that happen. They have established a number of ways to keep students engaged with their peers, and one of them, Tuesday Night Trivia, has continued into the summer.

The College of Science, Engineering and Technology Research Symposium and Honors Showcase made a quick transition to online when the COVID-19 precautions were put in place. “For a tight three-week timeline, I think our administration, faculty and students did an incredible job bringing their work to life in a virtual manner,” said Breanna Naegeli, Honors College Associate Dean.

The COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t stop the Honors College from holding its annual awards banquet. Associate Dean Breanna Naegeli and her staff just had to find a different way to do it. So for the first time, the banquet was made available via livestream Tuesday night as students celebrated the year with an added benefit — their families could be with them.

What do you get when you combine the Milwaukee Brewers and GCU’s Honors College? The Brewers STEM Crew after school club. The program for middle school students, who were led by students from the Honors College, highlighted the STEM involved in baseball through an active, engaging approach.

The top 25 students in the Honors College’s PAC Professional Development Program were invited to an etiquette dinner Tuesday night to find out the top 10 while also brushing up on their formal dinner etiquette. Although students were challenged to collect the most PAC points, Honors College Associate Dean Breanna Naegeli said the program is less about competition and more about students bettering themselves.

Saturday was a day of celebration as Grand Canyon University’s Alpha Chi chapter inducted 1,212 new members into the prestigious honors society. Only students within the top 10% of their graduating class in each of their individual colleges are eligible. “GCU does attract a lot of exceptional learners,” Honors College Associate Dean Breanna Naegeli said.