teaching

Shay Quitno was terrified. She couldn’t sleep. It was her first day ever of teaching a class after graduating from GCU last spring. Quitno shared those feelings on Instagram, a project by the College of Education to chronicle the first year of a COE graduate in hopes that aspiring teachers and others can see what it’s like and learn from it. “Life with Shay” has been a social media hit. Quitno had more to say (and film) on a recent day in her classroom at Hermosa Vista Elementary School in Mesa, where it was evident her training overcame rookie teacher anxiety.

Jason Cantanese, a math teacher at Pueblo Del Sol Elementary School in Phoenix, learned early in his career that the school didn’t offer algebra. He knew his students needed it to succeed, and he came up with a creative way to make it happen. Cantanese was one of four panelists at the College of Education’s Virtual Dean Speakers Series Wednesday, and his story revealed why he wanted to teach, a theme of the event. “If you are in a classroom and see a problem, don’t wait. You can be part of that change,” he said.

Dr. Meredith Critchfield is the new College of Education dean, succeeding Dr. Kimberly LaPrade, who is retiring in August. Critchfield said she will focus on strategies to stay on the cutting edge of changes in education after the pandemic and explore innovative ways to tell the story of COE and the teaching profession, among other initiatives. The former college rower, who joined GCU’s faculty in 2013, will bring to COE the teamwork she learned on the water. “To this day I really try to embrace that in my leadership style,” she said. “How can we all be working in a cohesive unit so no one is flipping the boat and we are all moving forward?”

No one would blame Rosemary Zuniga for quitting after she started college as a single mother in Las Vegas 30 years ago. She had worked fulltime as a cocktail waitress, had medical problems, her parents died of cancer months apart and she had back surgery. But Zuniga made a promise to her mom during their last conversation and to her daughter Mariah, who was a newborn when she first started college. She wouldn’t quit. She is set to graduate from GCU on Saturday.