P23
March 2013
P22
March 2013
GCU’s library is one of a few buildings Phoenix Police Cmdr. Tim Hampton remembers
from 1985, though he says his alma mater is well-known in law enforcement circles.
Photo by Darryl Webb
– by Michael Ferraresi
Longtime Phoenix Police leader
found focus at GCU
alumni
alumni
K
asper Axtell
described his spiritual transformation as a modern Saul-to-
Paul story.
Rather than seeing a blinding light or hearing the voice of God, it was a Christian
youth camp after his senior year of high school that led him to the Lord.
Although he was known for his Christian community outreach during his time at
Grand Canyon University, Axtell, now 24, said he overcame an immoral lifestyle
at an early age to earn a chance at a college degree. The 2012 graduate is now
confidently on his way to a career in sports ministry.
Axtell currently serves as an intern for Ohio-based Athletes in Action, where he
manages facilities and assists with customer service for the national evangelical
Christian ministry group. He finds the most joy in his work when he has the
opportunity to share the Gospel with young athletes facing challenges similar to
the ones that he did when he was a teen.
“Before I knew God, I had struggled with many self-destructive habits,” Axtell
said. “I was battling an identity crisis, not knowing who to please, which is very
dangerous.” While attending Flagstaff High School, Axtell found himself trapped
in a shallow lifestyle of drinking and carousing. During his senior year, he moved
in with
Adam Serrano
, a Christian teammate on his baseball team.
Serrano became like a brother to Axtell and encouraged him to come to GCU
in 2009.
As a student, Axtell helped lead GCU’s Spiritual Life office with community
service events such as clearing trash from neighborhoods near campus, cleaning
graffiti and serving food to the homeless.
Axtell faced the difficult decision of returning to GCU to pursue a master’s
degree and work for Spiritual Life or pursue full-time employment in sports
ministry. In the end, he stayed in Ohio to help others with their faith.
“God pressed it on my heart to get out of my comfort zone,” Axtell said.
“Somewhere like GCU can be a safe haven for believers, but it can also be a
comfort that holds back believers. I wanted to get out of something I knew and
into something I didn’t know.”
Axtell has stayed with the same family near Athletes in Action’s Dayton
headquarters since he moved there. The family is involved with the organization’s
basketball ministry department.
Kelly Michalski
, Axtell’s internship surrogate
mother, said he endeared himself to her family and the staff at AIA with his
determination to grow his faith.
“I see him as a man God plucked out of a bad situation and is now using to spread
His word,” said Michalski, who houses AIA interns every summer.
“The way he acts and loves God, you would never know the baggage he has had
in his life.”
■
S
unlight reflected off the gold-platedbadge pinned above
Cmdr. TimHampton’s
heart as he strolled the campus where he launched his police career. He knew the
place well, yet barely recognized it.
Hampton graduated from his hometown Grand Canyon University in 1985, when it
was truly a little Christian school. The quiet buildings where he took undergraduate
night classes were replaced by state-of-the-art high-rises now bustling with students.
The longtime Phoenix Police Department leader grew up just a few miles from GCU.
He policed the area as an officer and oversaw west Phoenix as a patrol supervisor,
often finding himself involved with his alma mater on crime-reduction programs.
Hampton expects to earn his Ph.D. in organizational leadership this year and
would then like to teach at GCU. For him, teaching and mentorship are more of a
responsibility than a goal – and GCU encourages that mentality.
“The atmosphere of teaching, the camaraderie here – it’s just different,” said
Hampton, a 23-year Phoenix police veteran who oversees the department’s
Property Crimes Bureau.
“That’s what’s special about this campus,” Hampton said. “You actually feel a sense
of direction and mission here. It’s not like other universities where it’s just like a
herd of cattle moving along.”
GCU has long prided itself on being involved with community efforts such as the
federally funded “Weed n Seed” programs to clear crime and blight from nearby
neighborhoods. Hampton says the University has committed to being involved
with community-based justice, assisting whenever possible to help residents and
police in the area around campus. He often found himself at community meetings
hosted by his alma mater.
As a GCU undergrad, Hampton majored in behavioral science the same year he
became a probation officer. He credited the writing and analytical skills taught at
GCU as inspiration to get past the “grunting and sweating mentality” of chasing
radio calls. Now, in today’s era of tight city budgets, even beat cops are asked to
act as detectives.
“Now with the complexity of crimes, you have to have the ability to comprehend
and the cognitive skills necessary to investigate,” said Hampton, whose detectives
investigate everything from identity theft and residential burglaries to multimillion-
dollar white-collar crimes.
Moving up at a police department is also more difficult without the proper
degrees. Phoenix police
Sgt. Kenny Laird
, who oversees officers assigned to
neighborhoods around GCU, said there is a higher standard now for promotions.
Online criminal justice degrees through GCU have become an attractive option for
working cops who can’t attend class during traditional hours.
Laird, who doubles as GCU’s assistant public safety director, said Hampton is
known for his ability to connect with everyone from line officers to neighborhood
leaders. How would he be as a college instructor? Hampton understands the need
to have well-rounded, well-trained officers on the street – and his reputation for
being brutally honest with his fellow officers could serve future cops well.
“The unedited version of Tim Hampton would be interesting to see …,” Laird said.
“It would benefit a lot of people.”
■
Recent grad huddles up with
evangelical Athletes in Action
TAKING THE FIELD
WITH FAITH
WEST SIDE PRIDE
– by Cooper Nelson
GCU graduate Kasper Axtell found his calling in sports ministry with Ohio-based
Athletes in Action. Photo courtesy of Kasper Axtell
Hometown:
Phoenix.
Police experience:
Commander over Property Crimes
Bureau at Phoenix Police Department, the latest of dozens
of assignments in his 23-year career.
Education:
Bachelor’s in behavioral science, Grand Canyon
University (1985); master’s in educational leadership,
Northern Arizona University; is completing a doctorate in
organizational leadership.
Community service:
Served as senior pastor at Desert
Cove Assembly of God and on several executive boards
of organizations dedicated to improving quality of life for
Phoenix residents.
Tim Hampton
Alumni Relations main page:
To update your information and tell us about the
latest with you:
Director of Alumni Relations:
Don Fraser
|
602.639.6418
|
WE NEED
YOU!
