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There’s a student at GCU whose life has not quite gone as planned — yet he’s flourishing. In 2003, the Marine was ambushed in Iraq, resulting in the loss of an eye, a traumatic brain injury and a bullet wound to the arm. His mother says he shouldn’t have survived, “but by the grace of God he did.” The injuries cost him a career in law enforcement and a job with the Kepler Space Telescope Program. But from the ashes, Brent Phillips has created something special with the help of the University.

The new chefs at Canyon 49 Grill know a thing or two about working with each other. They met more than a decade ago at a resort, where they cooked together for six years in multiple restaurants. They say their past experience has made the transition to GCU a fun one, and they agree with the herd: There’s something different about this place. “Here, it’s like a family,” Sous Chef Mike Willison said.

Campus construction projects are barreling forward this summer, from the addition of 1,000 field-level seats at GCU Ballpark that will put spectators right in the action, to a new Lope Shop, two new residence halls, a soon-to-be-completed parking garage, a new Colangelo College of Business building, a new Canyon Activities Center, and perhaps the most exciting addition for students — a long-anticipated Taco Bell. The projects are on track, many of them expected to be completed by the time students arrive for the fall semester.

It might appear to be time for summer chill instead of summer sweat, yet with hundreds of events and activities to plan the mode is busy for the 14-member staff of GCU’s Office of Student Engagement. Nearly 600 activities were planned and executed under the umbrella of Student Engagement last school year, not including hundreds of events managed by the 126 clubs. “It’s not the volume [of events] but the engagement,’’ said Jeremy Mack, director of Student Engagement. “We want to make students feel welcome on campus while making friends.’’

Senior Bre L’Estrange will compete in July in the Miss Earth United States contest after being selected as Colorado’s delegate for the pageant. But in her down time, she volunteered at St. Vincent de Paul’s Dream Center to teach children about recycling. The center plays many roles for Phoenix families, especially their children, who are in need of a helping hand.

If you want to get the most out of exercising, it seems that exercising every day makes a difference. Dr. Zachary Zeigler and a team of GCU students looked into the impact of daily exercise versus skipping a day of exercise in men with high blood pressure. Their research was published recently in the academic journal Exercise Medicine. Here’s the skinny on what they found: Don’t skip a day — it appears that daily exercise may be good for your blood pressure.

They blink. They cry. They yell — but they don’t get hurt. The College of Nursing and Health Care Professions’ new immersive lab features manikins (the medical spelling for mannequins) that challenge students in intense, real-life scenarios. The lab is outfitted with interactive cameras, audio, hospital rooms and a control room where facilitators can pick their poison.

A group of Honors College students had high hopes of worship and career development on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. The students hit their expected goals. But what enlightened them to the core was what they didn’t expect — love.

The Summer Institute isn’t quite like the traditional s’mores and campfire summer camp. Instead, the more than a dozen academic camps in various GCU colleges saw high school sophomores, juniors and seniors learning about Trojan malware, investigating the qualities of polyvinyl alcohol cryogels, writing poetry or executing mock warrants — and making friends while staying in the University’s dorms for the two- to four-day camps. The institute geared up recently with various science camps and will continue throughout the summer with humanities, business, honors camps.

Photos by David Kadlubowski  GCU News Bureau GCU alumna Andrea Northup outfits President Brian Mueller and other executives with bowties she made to help the the Lakota American Indians in South Dakota.