Honors College

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.

Brian Mucyo’s Senior year at GCU is jam-packed with responsibilities connected to his passions, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Mucyo was recently selected as the National Federation of the Blind of Arizona’s Award and scholarship recipient, as well as taking a seat on the Arizona Association of Blind Students board. October is meet the blind month and Mucyo hopes to help spread awareness of issues that affect people with visual impairments. “The thing that makes this award kind of special to me is that it’s an award where sure, I’m being recognized for the things I do, the effort I put into school and the passion I have for everything that I do but it’s not one of those awards that I’ll be getting where it kind of leads with ‘despite the fact that he’s blind these are all the things he’s doing and that’s so incredible that’s why we’re giving it to him.’” Mucyo said. “To me I feel like it’s affirming that what makes me special isn’t that I’m blind and somehow overcame it, no it’s just who I am as a person.”

Women can be leaders too, if they set their mind to it. That is why Miss Arizona and Honors College Alumna Jacqueline Thomas’ LLC and blog Lady Leaders partnered with GCU’s Honors college to host the Empowering Female Leaders Panel. Thomas brought several strong GCU women in leadership positions, such as the College of Nursing and Health Care professions Dean Dr. Lisa Smith, Executive Vice President of GCU Sarah Boeder and Vice President of Faculty Operations Kelly Palese, to help empower young women on campus to unlock their leadership potential. “Lady Leaders is committed to providing tangible resources, tools and mentors for women,” Thomas said. “Now that I have been blessed with this network and resources, I want to be able to give it back. That’s the soul purpose for these lady leader panels.”

There was no shortage of Lope pride circulating around Phoenix on Saturday as the Honors College participated in its third annual service day. More than 150 Honors students helped multiple nonprofit organizations, including 110 at third annual Phoenix Famtastical Festival. “I’m very surprised how many people came out today,” Honors student Kendall Smith said. “… I love that vibe that GCU Honors gives off.”

Honors College sophomore Esmeralda Gomez earned a prestigious internship at TGen this summer and for eight weeks joined students from around the country, including Ivy League schools, in researching possible cures and treatments for a rare form of ovarian cancer. “It was just really cool. There was just never any competition between us — it was all about growth,” she said.

The Honors College, which started as a student community of 59 in 2013, has grown to become GCU’s ninth college and this fall welcomed more than 1,000 freshmen, bringing its total to more than 2,250 with no signs of slowing down. “As the culture shifts year after year, as we get these new waves of exceptional leaders coming in, each year can look like a completely different story,” Associate Dean Breanna Naegeli said.

It’s not every day that a university accepts the incoming application of a 15-year-old applicant, but Shreya Muthu isn’t your everyday student. Muthu skipped both eighth grade and her sophomore year of high school and will attend GCU for the fall semester. “I’m super excited, I love the atmosphere here and I’m excited to see the opportunities that it brings me,” she said.

When Brian Mucyo was 6, his parents had to send their son to a country more medically equipped to care for the deterioration of his vision. With only 10% visibility left in his left eye and a prosthetic eye for his right, Mucyo lived in Belgium for several years before moving to America to complete high school and eventually enroll at GCU. Now he’s an Honors College student and uses the skills he has developed in his travels (specifically, the four languages he now speaks fluently) to help other international students create the confidence to speak and learn English.

Jacqueline Thomas competed in the Miss Arizona competition regularly during her time at GCU, finishing second in 2018, and now she has taken the next step. She won the title last weekend and will represent Arizona as she vies for the Miss America title. She credits GCU’s Honors College for helping her succeed. “Everything that I did once I joined the Honors College, from internships to jobs to other extra-curricular activities or opportunities within the Miss Arizona organization, was all because of the foundation that the Honors College laid out for me,” she said.

Honors College students gathered in GCU Arena on Saturday night to celebrate all of their achievements during the 2018-19 academic year. Assistant Dean Breanna Naegeli said the Honors banquet is one of her favorite events of the year. “It allows us all an opportunity to take a moment to reflect upon and acknowledge all the exceptional work and efforts of our students. These students not only take Honors courses and commit to the rigor in the classroom, but they continually go above and beyond outside of the classroom as well,” she said.