Graduate

Stefany Caicedo was in a coma for 49 days after a car accident in 2012. She had to learn everything again, from talking to walking. Ten years later, she stood in the sunshine outside GCU Arena with her Georgia family as the proud owner of a bachelor’s degree in educational studies. “God saved me from something horrible. I’m not supposed to be here. If he put this in front of me, I’m going to do this,” Caicedo said.

Dr. Eric Peterson refused to let the postponed Commencement ceremony dampen his enthusiasm about earning a doctoral degree. But what stands out about his story is that he had virtually no time to prepare for defending his dissertation because he spent most of the day with his mother at a hospital. It still turned out fine. “God knew what I needed,” he said.

When the Dean of Bethany College in West Virginia resigned in the fall of 2014, all Associate Dean Levi Esses wanted was to become the new dean of students for his alma mater. Unfortunately, there was only one thing in his way: the fact that he didn’t have his doctoral degree. That experience is what drove Esses to pursue his doctoral degree, ultimately leading to his graduation this past April. “God had a plan Honestly, it all happened I think largely part to my doctoral degree, that I had it finished and my experience in higher education,” Esses said.