Antelope Intros is a recurring GCU Today feature that introduces some of our new employees to the people around them in a way that is fun and informative. Employees are eligible to be featured in the month following their orientation.

Celise Colston

CELISE COLSTON

Job title: Marketing budget coordinator

Job location: 27th Avenue

What attracted you to GCU? I needed a job. Kidding! I was placed here as a contractor in April on the Digital Marketing side and ended up getting a permanent position here.

What do you do for fun and where do you find that outlet? Reading, writing, and going to the movies.

What are you passionate about? Writing and getting kids to do the same. I was bitten by the writing bug in seventh grade. My best friend and I were bored during recess (seriously — no kid gets bored during recess, I know, so I’m thinking it was raining that day) and she suggested writing short stories. I don’t remember what I wrote about or what she wrote about, I just remember that I didn’t want to stop. By the time I reached high school, I knew that I wanted to write young adult fiction (ages 13-18). I’ve never looked back. I had great English teachers in high school that encouraged my talent but didn’t have the tools to nurture that talent, so I didn’t hone my writing skills until after I graduated. I don’t think it should be like that for kids. My future goal is to open a nonprofit creative writing and publishing center for youth in the downtown Phoenix area. They’ll write stories and then have their work published in chapter books and annual anthologies. I believe kids have a story to tell and should have the opportunity to tell that story.

What are your favorite places or events in the Valley that you like to visit? I don’t really have any favorite places, but I like to going to the Phoenix Art Museum when they have interesting exhibits. My husband and I have been living in downtown Phoenix for three years, so I think I’m still trying to discover a “favorite place.” Events-wise, I like doing the downtown Art Walk. We’re trying to put more pictures on the walls of our apartment, and the Art Walk has been a good way to find local artists. Also, the Certified Local Arts Festival has been in our “front yard” for the last two years, and I like stepping right out my front door and discovering locally owned and operated businesses.

Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know: I write contemporary adult romance under a pen name. I’ve been reading adult romance since I was a freshman in high school. I’m addicted to these types of books and figured that at some point I’d like to dip my toe in that genre. As a writer, my characters come to me in my dreams. Once I write about them, the dreams stop.

What are you most proud of? Being a published author. Before switching to adult romance, I was writing young adult fiction and independently published two books.

—–

Dr. Heather Gollnow with her fiance, Joe Monthie. Their wedding is right after Christmas.

DR. HEATHER GOLLNOW

Job title: Assistant dean/associate professor, College of Science, Engineering, and Technology

Job location: Main campus, Building 6

What attracted you to GCU? I was attracted to GCU because of the amount of growth that has occurred in recent years and how the University is truly student-centered. Students are offered some great activities outside the classroom to help develop the whole person, spiritually, physically and socially.

What do you do for fun and where do you find that outlet? I love being active, whether it’s lifting weights, doing yoga, hiking or running.

What are you passionate about? Helping people find their strengths in the world of technology and helping them build upon those strengths to do great things.

What are your favorite places or events in the Valley that you like to visit? I just moved here in August, so I am just really enjoying exploring all of the wonderful elements of nature and outdoor activities that AZ has to offer.

Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know: I can’t whistle. Not even a little.

What are you most proud of? I earned my pilot’s license at 19. It forced me to grow up and accept responsibility quickly.

The post Antelope Intros: Celise Colston and Dr. Heather Gollnow appeared first on GCU Today.

By GCU News Bureau

Grand Canyon University’s winter commencement Friday packed the Arena to the rafters with more than 600 traditional graduates in the Class of 2015, 4,000-plus guests and  the usual amount of purple-laced, celebratory spirit. But for one graduate it went far beyond that — all the way to the Holy Spirit.

Deven Anderson, a College of Theology graduate, gave his life to Jesus while serving a prison sentence for robbing banks. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

His name is Deven Anderson, and his story needs to be told to be believed. Anderson, 32, received his degree in Christian Studies 2½ years after enrolling at GCU and four years after serving a decade in federal prison for robbing more than a dozen banks.

Left to fend for himself in west Phoenix after his mother died when he was 14, Anderson turned to the gang life before eventually getting caught. He landed in the correctional institution in Victorville, Calif., in a cell with a Hispanic man who didn’t speak English. But the man’s actions spoke in a very decipherable language.

“All he would do was read his Bible day and night,” Anderson said. “I thought he was crazy. He would get up and pace around the unit — I call it talking to himself, but he was praying. And he would come back with this look on his face as if God was talking to him. This man, he offered me everything. And you know what’s crazy? That’s not even what it’s like in prison, for one race to offer another race everything.”

Six days later, another man came into the cell. He was heavily tattooed and certainly looked like an inmate. But after a few minutes of nervous conversation, Anderson learned he was a prison clerk who was a Christian and had felt called by God to visit that particular cell on that particular day. He invited Anderson to pray; his Hispanic cellmate was so joyous, he started jumping up and down.

“It was the first time I ever felt the Holy Spirit,” Anderson said. “It’s like He put warm oil on my legs and it was coming up. It kind of scared me. I let their hands go, and I don’t know what happened but something in me broke — and when it broke it made me cry. I knew that I was in the presence of a holy God. It hurt me so bad to know that I was so filthy and He was still allowing me to be in His presence. I did a 180 right there.”

Anderson had been passing time in prison writing rap music, but now declared himself a Christian artist. He stopped cursing. He earned his GED and took college-level courses.

Spin forward to his post-prison life. Anderson got married — he met his wife, Holly, after a Godly mysterious set of circumstances led him to meet her brother in prison. He and Holly manage a tax office, and he designs women’s clothing and writes and performs Christian rap. Anderson wanted to obtain a college degree, but everywhere he went he was rejected because of his past. And then, Holly suggested GCU.

Anderson graduated Friday with a degree in Christian Studies and is waiting to see what God has in store for him. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

He got to his GCU interview, and the inevitable question about his background came up. He couldn’t believe the reaction.

“It was a whole different atmosphere, a whole different vibe and energy,” he said. “They wanted to hear the story just to reminisce about what to them was like a victory lap.”

Now that what he calls his “peaceful” GCU experience is ending, Anderson is “at a crossroads.” He has an intense desire to learn more about Christian apologetics. He’s thought about becoming a pastor, but he respects the difficulty of that job.

Anderson felt inspired by a group of College of Theology professors who are, in his view, are “on fire,” so he recently went to one of them, Dr. Mark Kreitzer, to talk about his situation. Kreitzer didn’t know anything about Anderson’s past before that meeting but was taken aback not just by the story, but by what he calls “the light of Christ in his face.”

“He has a heart to minister to people,” Kreitzer said.

Just as GCU’s heart is in ministering to the community, a desire often professed by Mueller. “This is a good example of Brian’s vision for the University,” Kreitzer said. “We’re not in it for ourselves — we want to help this area of west Phoenix break out of the chains of poverty. That’s what a Christian university is all about.”

As for his next step, Anderson’s leaving that up to God. “I believe that God has placed me right here for a reason, but I don’t know the reason,” he said.

Maybe the first thing to do is to stop for a minute and just jump for joy.

—Rick Vacek

Commencement speakers bring laughter, wisdom

It’s becoming part of what we look forward to most at commencement: President Brian Mueller’s short-and-sweet address.

A majority of nursing graduates decorated their mortarboards for commencement. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

“The December graduation is such a phenomenon,” Mueller told the graduates, many wearing glittery, ribbon-adorned mortarboards (you know who you are, future nurses) and happy guests who grabbed nearly every spare seat, floor to ceiling, in the Arena.

“It’s grown so large that we decided to study the students graduating in December versus the students graduating in April. And without question, the students graduating in December have turned out to be, by far, the best students ever to attend Grand Canyon University,” he quipped.

The crowd roared, then Mueller confessed, “In the spring, I’m going to have to change the script just a little bit.”

Mueller introduced keynote speaker Erik Wahl, a graffiti artist/author/entrepreneur/philanthropist, who speed-painted two large canvasses, a striking eagle and a white-on-black piece that eventually was revealed to be an upside-down portrait of the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Wahl told the audience he loved art as a child until a teacher told him that he wasn’t very good because he colored outside the lines and didn’t color apples red and pumpkins orange. He took it to heart and stopped making art, focusing instead on good grades and a business degree from the University of San Diego. Success came in the corporate world. But due to a “series of events that rocked the core of my foundation,” Wahl found himself in a financial free fall.

Erik Wahl quickly created two intriguing paintings during his commencement address Friday in GCU Arena. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

“I had allowed my self-worth to be directly tied to my net worth,” he said.

A friend suggested travel, but Wahl had no money. Instead, he bought paint and a brush, and his creativity, suppressed for 20 years, returned.

“I realized I’d lived so conservatively, so predictably, so logically that I wondered if I’d ever lived at all,” he said. “But don’t mistake this as a battle call for you to drop your ambition and grab a paint brush. I don’t need the competition.”

Wahl did urge the graduates to not be afraid to fail in their chosen fields. “Failure is going to happen. Failure is not the opposite of success, but it is part of success. It’s part of defining what your purpose is going to be.”

Turning his attention to Jobs, who once told a Stanford University graduates to “stay hungry and stay foolish,” Wahl said the technology genius had it right.

“See what others around you see,” he said. “Have the courage to live like Steve Jobs did and to twist the landscape and think like no one has ever thought before.”

—Janie Magruder

Future dentist is first Honors College graduate

Alexa Pawlak, 21, isn’t just one of the outstanding biology majors who graduated Friday. The future dentist also is the first student to graduate from GCU’s Honors College.

“This is a huge milestone for the Honors College,” said program manager Breanna Naegeli.

Alexa Pawlak is the first student to graduate from GCU’s fast-growing Honors College.

The college was only two years old when Pawlak transferred to GCU from Mesa Community College. It has grown from 59 in the fall of 2013 to 750 this school year, Naegeli said.

Pawlak is the first, but about 40 other Honors College students will graduate in the spring, and many will have completed a bachelor’s degree in three years, Naegeli said.

“It’s wonderful to see our students’ hard work, dedication and diligence pay off,” she said.

Pawlak was as surprised to learn she was the first honors student to graduate as she was to discover two years ago that she loved honors classes.

She was reluctant at first because she thought the designation would signify additional busy work. As it turned out, she did have extra work and tests — like her final Thursday that included in-depth essay questions in addition to the standard multiple choice questions. But she thrived on it.

“It really forces you to get a much deeper understanding of the material,” Pawlak said. “It also helped me build relationships with my professors.”

One of her favorite classes was genetics, a class she wasn’t initially excited to take.

“I ended up writing a paper on disease and it took me the whole semester to do it. It’s a disease I’m a risk for and it was a great learning experience being able to really work hard on something that was meaningful to me,” she said.

Pawlak earned a biology degree with an emphasis in pre-medicine from the College of Science, Engineering and Technology and is headed to dental school. She has been accepted into four schools, and is torn between Midwestern University in Glendale and the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in Philadelphia.

She has known she wanted to be a dentist since she was in 10th grade, but it wasn’t until 2012 that she became a Christian and decided to attend GCU.

“It’s awesome,” she said of the school’s Christian philosophy. “It’s like more people who share your same values and morals. The environment is more encouraging and everything points toward God.”

—Laurie Merrill

From hostage negotiations to nursing, GCU grad dedicated to service

Serving others has been a constant for Angela Rodriquez. The Albuquerque woman joined her city’s police force when she was just 18, retiring 20 years later after an impressive career in law enforcement.

On Friday, Rodriguez graduated from GCU with a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions. She hopes to work in the emergency room of a Level I trauma center or specialize in psychiatric nursing once she has been certified by the state of New Mexico.

“I became a police officer because I wanted to help people,” said Rodriguez, 56. “What better way to continue to help people than nursing?”

Starting her career at a time when there were fewer than four dozen women in the Albuquerque Police Department, she was the first female assigned to its gang squad and the first woman named as a SWAT team negotiator. In between, Rodriguez was a motorcycle cop for 10 years and gave birth to two children, too.

Following her retirement in 1998, Rodriguez moved to Washington, where she was a hospital volunteer for several years, working with doctors and families of patients on the surgical floor and holding babies and playing with children in the pediatric unit.

“I was so impressed with the nurses I worked with, and I thought, ‘This is something I could do,’” she said.

Returning to New Mexico to be nearer her aging parents, Rodriguez learned that several friends were enrolled in GCU’s nursing college. Her first phone call, to admissions representative Scott Bogart, sold her on the University, and she enrolled in ground classes at the Albuquerque campus in August 2014. There were just 20 other students in her cohort.

“We all knew each other and got to work with each other in different settings, and we could go to our instructors, our staff, anyone we wanted, anytime we wanted, if we needed help,” she said. “It was an amazing experience.”

Rodriguez most enjoyed her courses and training in surgery and psychiatric nursing and found her passion for emergency room work during her clinical experience at Albuquerque’s only trauma hospital. As vice president of the Student Nurses Association, she helped plan many events to benefit the March of Dimes, the Ronald McDonald House, and Joy Junction and other homeless shelters in Albuquerque.

“We got to see people who weren’t as fortunate as us and who we are going to be assisting someday,” she said. “We are so blessed to live in the United States, and we should all try to help these people.”

Ultimately, Rodriguez would like to work with Doctors Without Borders, traveling the world to help provide emergency medical care to people in crisis. It’s her calling, she believes.

“God is the reason I’m here — He led me to this profession,” she said.

—Janie Magruder

New grad ready to live teaching dream

For many students, landing a job after college is stressful. But Emma Kinsella is anxiously waiting to settle into her own classroom following graduation.

Emma Kinsella graduated from the College of Education with a dual degree in elementary education and special education.

During her last semester at GCU, Kinsella spent more than eight weeks student teaching in the Alhambra Elementary School District, just blocks from the University’s campus. She recently accepted a full-time position as a cross-categorical resource teacher, instructing students with varying needs at Westwood Primary School in Phoenix.

The 21-year-old, who graduated Friday from the College of Education with a dual degree in elementary education and special education, said she is preparing by gathering beneficial materials for her classroom and reviewing student files to learn about their individual goals and education plans.

“The biggest thing I want is to leave a lifelong mark in my students,” Kinsella said. “I want them to know that although they may have obstacles and struggles that other students don’t have, they can overcome those and achieve as much, if not more, than other students.”

She didn’t set out to be a teacher, but is glad life happened that way. Her initial foray into the world of teaching took place while she was a middle-school student in the gifted and talented program. Kinsella volunteered every week in a kindergarten special education class, and there, she met Gavin, a student with autism who would direct her life. Because Gavin would get so easily overstimulated when she and her classmates arrived, she spent a lot of her time doing activities with him on the playground.

A unique bond was created and, eventually, the boy learned to make it through an entire day with Kinsella by his side. He even learned to speak.

“Both his teacher and mine said that they had never seen him grow so fondly of someone as he had with me, and I grew just as attached,” Kinsella said.

Although Kinsella worked closely with various students in different classroom settings throughout middle school, high school and college, she believes it was Gavin who made it easy to discover her passion: to really help students like him shine.

“Watching the amount of growth and progress that Gavin made that year and being just a small role in that growth sparked a passion of mine that would remain for the rest of my life,” she said.

—Jeannette Cruz 

She had no trouble warming up to GCU

Like many freshmen, Kaitlin Swanson was struggling a bit — but not academically. Instead, the small college she had chosen in her native Minnesota wasn’t making the grade, in her mind, so she started thinking about what else might be out there.

The faculty and staff in the Colangelo College of Business is sad to see Kaitlin Swanson go.

A chance encounter with an advertisement for GCU got her thinking about a campus in Phoenix that was bigger and growing quickly. Oh, and there was one other important factor.

“It was warm here,” she said.

Not long after, Swanson brought her sunny disposition to GCU’s Colangelo College of Business for her sophomore year. But she was just getting warmed up figuratively as well as literally.

Early in her junior year, she initiated a meeting with Dr. Randy Gibb, who had arrived as CCOB’s new dean a few months earlier, to find out his plans for the college. That same day, she was hired as an administrative assistant in the CCOB office, and when she graduated Friday with a degree in Business Management she was sad to be leaving an office and a campus that had become home.

“It has been phenomenal,” she said. “I can’t begin to articulate how many times they have given me opportunities that I would never have had anywhere else. The professors here are fantastic. The open-door policy is unmatchable. I have such close relationships with all the professors in that office.”

The feeling is mutual.

“Kaitlin has been the leader of our ASWs (Awesome Student Workers) in our CCOB front office,” Gibb said. “She has become an integral part of our college, and as odd as it sounds, we are sad to see her graduate. But at the same time we are very proud of her and happy to see her move on with her life as a GCU alumna.”

Swanson would love to go into business consulting and “understanding how people work,” but the first step for this new alumna is to spend the next five weeks at her home in Anoka, Minn., and do some work for a manufacturing company and a nonprofit. Then she plans to go on a 2½-month trip to visit her aunt and uncle in England.

She’s looking forward to enjoying a white Christmas again. But after that? Not so much. “I’m sure it will snow twice and I’ll want to come back,” she said.

—Rick Vacek

Graduate packs 16 shows, several internships, A/V work into college

Iliana Swartz, left, was a force to be reckoned with in COFAP’s production of “Oklahoma!” last spring. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

Iliana Swartz didn’t start acting until she was a teenager, but she has since made up for lost time, delivering memorable stage performances as the Cheshire Cat in “Alice in Wonderland” at Coeur d’Alene (Idaho) high school and as Aunt Eller in GCU’s sweeping “Oklahoma!” last spring.

Thanks to the College of Fine Arts and Production, the theatre has become Swartz’s life. She first learned about GCU at a Rock & Worship Roadshow in Texas, then enrolled as a special education major and started classes in Fall 2012. Almost immediately, she gravitated to the Ethington Stage, which “forced me to come of out my shell, talk to people and make friends.”

Swartz told herself she would stick to her education degree, but the lure of the theatre was too great. After being selected in 2013 for the ensemble in “The Cherry Orchard,” Swartz switched her major to theatre and drama.

She graduated Friday with a bachelor’s degree from COFAP, just 3-1/2 years after starting school. She did several internships, worked on campus for the busy Event Services audio-visual department, and had an assignment in all 16 mainstage shows, whether acting, stagecraft, lighting or stage management.

“I had very little sleep,” Swartz, 21, said of her time on campus.

She was assistant stage manager for “Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure,” in 2014, and most recently was stage manager for “Die Fledermaus,” an opera presented by COFAP in November.

But it was in “Oklahoma!” that Swartz, who got a callback on a part she never tried out for, demonstrated her comedic talents. She was cast as Aunt Eller, a sturdy farm woman with a big heart who also could be tough.

“We had a lot of fun together,” said Swartz, who had an uncanny ability to toss out hilarious insults, among them to a male cast member, “That’s not a moustache — that’s a caterpillar!”

Swartz also directed two plays that were part of COFAP’s student-run “second series” program, and was a student worker in Event Services’ audio-visual department. She helped set up light and sound for many campus events, including her favorites, GCU music concerts.

Although she’s good at it, acting is not where Swartz sees her future. Rather, her internships at Phoenix Theatre, the Herberger Theater Center, Tempe Center for the Arts and Chandler Center for the Arts have honed her love for backstage work.

For now, Swartz plans to return home to Texas and learn American Sign Language because she feels strongly that those who are hearing impaired also should enjoy the theatre.

“I would love to continue directing,” she said. “It gives you a lot of skills to see every aspect of a production. You get to create this world, this story on stage, and bring it to life.”

—Janie Magruder

Thunderground artist sad to leave college behind

Andy Baughman’s life has been one great big canvas, and he continues to dream in color.

Andy Baughman is an artist, which is plain to see by some of his work on campus. (Photo courtesy of Andy Baughman)

Until two years ago, Baughman, who majored in digital design with a focus in animation, had no expectations to go back to college after obtaining his associate degree from Tacoma (Wash.) Community College. Baughman was working for an aluminum company in Chandler to provide for himself and his two siblings after moving to Arizona.

All three had been raised in a missionary family in France but were encouraged to pursue a new future in the United States while staying with extended family and investing in their relationship with God.

“Overseas it was hard to talk about God because nobody was interested,” Baughman, 24, said. “We definitely stood out because we were American, we had a large family and we were Christians. People were definitely skeptical of us.”

Then a close friend urged him to take a tour of GCU. One look at the campus changed his mind.

“At the time, I really didn’t have any concrete plans for the future, but I think it was because I hadn’t found a place that stood out to me. I really didn’t believe I would go back until I walked this campus,” Baughman said.

While a student, he took on student-engagement activities, including creating social opportunities for commuting students, while balancing school and work.

Baughman is an artist. He blends color, passion and ideas to create vibrant artwork on chalk murals, paintings and billboards inside and around Thunderground.

“I have had a lot of freedom down there, and it’s really the best thing I could be doing with my talent,” he said. “It makes me sad to leave this place behind because I will always have a unique connection with it.”

While Baughman is uncertain about his next move, the combination of creativity and interaction with people continues to inspire him.

“I was built for relationships and connectivity, so my ultimate goal would be to find a job that combines both of those,” he said. “I love kids, so working in ministry with kids part-time and balancing that with art on the side could be a possibility. All I know is that no matter what I do, I’m going to do art on the side.”

Baughman’s parents and five younger siblings were not there to see him get his diploma, but they will be close in spirit, he said.

“We have a strong family bond and no matter where they are, they will always be close,” Baughman said. “I have no shame in telling people that my parents are my inspiration. I know they’re proud.”

—Jeannette Cruz

CSET graduate hopes to stay at GCU

Bruce Ploeser graduated today, but he’s not going anywhere. At least, he hopes not.

Ploeser, who earned his bachelor of science in biology with an emphasis in pre-physician assistant, wants to keep studying at GCU with an eye toward earning additional degrees. He also wants to work as an enrollment counselor or an instructional assistant for chemistry. His end goal? To become a professor of chemistry.

Bruce Ploeser found his purpose at GCU: to further his education while helping others further theirs.

It’s a significant shift since Ploeser’s transfer more than two years ago from Estrella Mountain Community College, when he had his sights fixed on becoming a P.A.

“Through working in the Learning Lounge and my experiences empowering students to understand the sciences, I have decided to change plans,” said the 22-year-old.

Those plans might be temporarily hindered because GCU doesn’t offer advanced degrees in chemistry – at least, not yet. But Ploeser is a believer, and he believes the University will offer those and many more in the near future.

“The number of degrees has increased, especially with the rise of CSET, which I think is every exciting,” he said.

Ploeser said teaching at the Learning Lounge was a major part of his GCU experience, as was working with Dr. Joe Veres, director of K-12 outreach programs.

“Ever since Joe has come here, things are shaking,” he said. “It has been 100 percent an honor to work with Joe.”

Ploeser began working at the Learning Lounge in September 2014 as a science tutor.

“The concept is not that we are helping students who are deficient. We are here to help students who want to succeed more,” Ploeser said.

Ploeser’s favorite class was organic chemistry, a challenging yearlong experience that was improved by collaboration among classmates. He enjoyed Dr. Will Primack, a CSET professor who helped Ploeser learn who he was as a person.

Ploeser also appreciates GCU’s Christian roots.

“In any spiritual walk, you are going to have to be intentional,” he said. “The fact that this is a Christian campus, with Chapel, small group study and a lot of Christian faculty, creates an environment that lets you grow and be intentional.”

—Laurie Merrill

Contact the GCU News Bureau at GCU.Today@gcu.edu. 

The post GCU Arena packed for warm, winter commencement appeared first on GCU Today.

Photos by Darryl Webb
GCU News Bureau

GCU Arena was packed and festive for winter commencement Friday night as more than 600 traditional graduates received their diplomas. So many great stories equals so many great photos, filled with joy and anticipation.

The post 2015 winter commencement appeared first on GCU Today.

Antelope Intros is a recurring GCU Today feature that introduces some of our new employees to the people around them in a way that is fun and informative. Employees are eligible to be featured in the month following their orientation.

Lydia Fritz (center) and her children, Maddie (left) and Jake

LYDIA FRITZ

Job title: Assistant professor, computer programming, College of Science, Engineering and Technology

Job location: Main campus, Building 6

What attracted you to GCU? Lots of things! In no particular order, the teaching mission of the university, the beautiful Arizona weather, a chance to be part of an exciting, dynamic, growing campus community, and the opportunity to engage in service outreach with other faculty and students.

What do you do for fun and where do you find that outlet? I have many varied interests. I love hiking and being outdoors, and, as a North Carolina transplant, I’m looking forward to hiking in my new surroundings as well as doing a little mountain biking, which I’ve tried since moving here. I work out regularly, which makes me feel strong and mentally clear. I work out with a trainer when I can, doing primarily conditioning and circuit training workouts. I like lifting weight and feeling strong. Now that I’m in Arizona, I plan to do more outdoor workouts. I also enjoy a variety of indoor, quiet activities such as watching movies, knitting, video games (yes, I’m a nerd to the core) and meditation.

What are you passionate about? Teaching. I’ve worked as university faculty for the last 14 years, and I’m passionate about helping young adults get started on their undergraduate journey as they figure out how they want to utilize their education to contribute to our world.

What are your favorite places or events in the Valley that you like to visit? I moved here to be with my fiancé. He’s been in the area a little less than a year, and we are discovering new restaurants together. One of our favorites is Tomaso’s, a fantastic Italian place. They’ll cook almost any Italian dish you request. He and I are both “foodies,” so any local suggestions are great.

Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know: Even though my professional degree is in Computer Science, my undergraduate degree is in English Literature. I enjoyed mathematics and took more math courses than most any English major. I got a job as a technical writer for a small software company and, because the company was small, I got to interact with the developers. I loved the problem-solving aspect of their work, so I returned to school to pursue a master’s in Computer Science.

What are you most proud of? My two children. Maddie, 22, is finishing her senior year at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., where she’s double majoring in Italian and Art History. She spent her junior year in Italy, and her Italian is amazing. Jake, 18, will start as a freshman at ASU (Appalachian State, not Arizona — I’m an East Coaster, and I have to remember that ASU doesn’t mean App State around here). He enjoys math and computer science, but he’s also artistically inclined and absolutely hilarious. They are smart, kind and ready to enter the world as adults who contribute to helping make the world a better place. I’m also proud of the students I’ve worked with over the years.

—–

Cody Cusack and his cat

CODY CUSACK

Job title: Enrollment counselor, military division

Job locations: Peoria, 27th Avenue

What attracted you to GCU? I was a student here, and I loved the environment. I majored in digital film production. When I was a freshman in high school, I was introduced to the class, and I fell in love with it. There is so much that goes into creating even the shortest of projects, and every aspect of it is appealing to me.

What do you do for fun and where do you find that outlet? I am an avid gamer. I may be an adult, but there’s no reason not to be a kid. My favorite video game right now is called Rocket League. In this game, you essentially use rocket-powered cars to play soccer against one another. It has sucked away many hours of my life, and I can see this trend continuing to happen. If anyone wants to play, let me know!

What are you passionate about? Music, family and friends, and it’s been that way since my childhood. I love to kick back with a few friends and play a good video game or watch a good movie. It’s one of my favorite pastimes and something I do almost every weekend.

What are your favorite places or events in the Valley that you like to visit? I have been to countless concerts, but I think my favorite live show had to be seeing Green Day in Marquee Theatre. This venue holds around 500-800 people. It was such a small and intimate show, and they made that place shake. It was amazing!

Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know: I have a secret love for cats. I have one 17-year-old that I have had since she was a kitten. Anytime I am home, she is at my side or on my lap. She is like my best friend.

What are you most proud of? Graduating from college. A lot of people thought I wouldn’t make it far out of high school, where I did well in digital film classes but struggled in normal academic areas, but look at me now. My first year at GCU I ran into an old teacher who was shocked that not only did I make it to college, I made it to GCU. It was a nice feeling proving myself to her and to everyone else when I graduated.

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Photos by Darryl Webb
GCU News Bureau

Talk about a year with a lot going on: Big things were happening on the GCU campus and well beyond its borders throughout 2015. Here are the year’s best photos:

The post The GCU year in pictures for 2015 appeared first on GCU Today.

By Janie Magruder
Photos by Darryl Webb
GCU News Bureau

GCU’s ground enrollment hit a record 15,500 students in 2015.

No matter how you slice it, the most talked-about stories at Grand Canyon University in 2015 had something to do with students and creating for them the best possible academic, spiritual and social experiences.

With a record number of students matriculating on campus this year, new programs, new faculty and staff and — especially — new buildings were needed to help facilitate their learning. Additional residence halls and eateries were required for the students’ care and feeding, as were fields for their recreation and structures for their vehicles.

The University did not disappoint.

In what has become a year-end tradition at GCU Today, here are our top 10 stories of 2015, in no particular order of importance. (We do think you’d be hard-pressed to argue against the first entry, however.) Our list is by no means etched in stone, nor all-inclusive, but is merely meant to prompt water-cooler debates or a bit of reflection.

Thanks for the memories, GCU.

Up, up, up: student enrollment. If not for the 15,500 traditional students (a 21.6 percent jump over 2014’s ground enrollment) and the 59,200 online students (up 7.5 percent from last year) at GCU, there would be no stories to write. Hence, student growth stands alone atop this year’s big-news pile. By the time all academic records are finalized, it’s projected that an all-time high of more than 16,614 students will have graduated this year, more than doubling the number in 2010.

The crane was a familiar object in the skies above GCU during 2015.

Up, up, up: construction. The crane has become a regular fixture at “Grand Construction University,” and we don’t mean the long-necked kind that stand around in water. In 2015, GCU started/finished building: one soccer field plus stadium, one administration building, two parking garages, two engineering classroom buildings, two apartment-style residence halls, four six-story dorms, two intramural fields, dining spots along Lopes Way and the Lope Shop. Artificial turf was spread across the intramural field and new sod was rolled out on the Quad.

At the 27th Avenue office complex, GCU turned a run-down motel into a purple palace, calling it the Grand Canyon University Hotel, and recently broke ground on a beautiful office building complex.

Neighborhood revitalization. GCU kicked off in January a partnership with Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona in which students volunteer their time and skills in the neighborhood. Already, repairs to roofs, fencing, landscaping and painting have been made to 100 homes, and more than $255,000 has been raised through GCU’s Donate to Elevate state tax-credit program to help pay for the repairs. The campaign continues in January — stay tuned for details.

STEM growth. In fall 2014, GCU launched the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, rolling out programs in computer science and information technology, then opened its

STEM education, for K-12 and college students alike, was a GCU focus during 2015.

first engineering classroom building in August and broke ground on the second one in October. About a dozen undergraduate degrees are available in computer science, engineering and information technology, among others. GCU expects to have more than 10,000 students enrolled in STEM programs by next fall.

But the STEM focus doesn’t end with college students. In July, GCU saw its inaugural class of STEM Scholars (students at Alhambra High) take a biology course on campus as part of a program where they will earn 32 college credits, tuition-free, by the time they are finished with high school. And, on the heels of STEM Saturdays, when K-12 students come to campus to participate in science experiments, the University held STEM summer camps where middle and high school students felt the power of science and engineering at their fingertips. GCU also hosted in April for the first time the west regional of the Arizona FIRST Robotics Competition.

GCU converted the old Maryvale Golf Course into a sublime championship layout and will manage it for the city of Phoenix.

GCU Golf Course. The University invested $10 million to renovate and manage the old Maryvale Golf Course at 59th Avenue and Indian School Road in a unique partnership with the city of Phoenix. The groundbreaking was Jan. 2 of this year, and on Friday, a day shy of a year later, the new and improved course is scheduled to open to the public. Students in the Colangelo College of Business’ golf course management and hospitality management programs will get hands-on training there, and GCU’s golf teams will practice there.

Click here to read a GCU Today Magazine story about the course, and here for a hole-by-hole guide from our resident golfer, Rick Vacek.

Dan Majerle (left) and Andy Stankiewicz received new contracts in 2015 to coach their respective sports, men’s basketball and baseball.

Up, up, up: athletics. Big announcements came in May — four-year contracts for men’s basketball coach Dan Majerle and baseball coach Andy Stankiewicz and a five-year deal with Nike. GCU also hired Schellas Hyndman, the sixth all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division I men’s soccer history. Other big wins for the program: The men’s lacrosse team captured the national championship, the baseball team won the Western Athletic Conference title, the women’s soccer team beat Northern Arizona for the first time in school history, and the men’s basketball team shocked San Diego State and Houston in contests over Christmas break and closed out the year by winning 12 of its first 14 games.

Expansion of tutoring. Replicating an enormously popular on-campus tutoring program for nearby high school students, GCU extended to its own students the academic tools offered by the

Arlin Guadian (right), program coordinator of K-12 outreach, celebrates Christmas with Lillian and Jane Sabuni, who live in GCU’s neighborhood and have benefited from tutoring at the GCU Learning Lounge.

Learning Lounge. The student-driven changes focused on four subject areas — math, writing, Excel and science — and were incorporated into the After Dark Series four nights a week. A First Year Center of academic excellence opened in Juniper Hall, home to a third of GCU’s 750 Honors College students, and Learning Lounge tutors, all GCU students, set up outposts in the GCU Library and new engineering building. Read more in this GCU Today Magazine story.

First EP for Center for Worship Arts. The center in April produced its first extended play, “Canyon Worship,” which immediately was met with a rave industry review. The original track, “Follow You,” was one that we couldn’t get out of our heads for weeks. The center’s talented students performed at two showcases during the year, demonstrating their love for God and their amazing progress.

New CONHCP dean named. GCU appointed alumna Dr. Melanie D. Logue dean of the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions in April. Logue, who earned a BSN from GCU, a master’s of science with a concentration in family nurse practitioner from Arizona State, and a Ph.D. in nursing and doctor of nursing practice from the University of Arizona, was appointed in July to the Arizona State Board of Nursing by Gov. Doug Ducey. Click here to read a feature about her.

Speech and debate argues its way to the top. Despite being very young (it was started in the fall of 2013), GCU’s speech and debate team collected a ton of impressive hardware at tournaments this year. Last spring, the team repeated as champion in individual events at the National Christian College Forensics Invitational. Communication instructor Barry Regan‘s team lost a few seniors over the summer, but the team was undaunted, toppling ASU and the University of California, Berkeley, at a November meet and beating 34 other University teams at a tournament in December. The team is ranked in the top 20 nationally.

Honorable mention: Other stories that generated interest included: President Brian Mueller being named the Phoenix Business Journal’s 2015 Businessperson of the Year; GCU’s Neighborhood Safety Initiative, which brought positive changes to the neighborhood, including a

President Brian Mueller (left) and GCU held six days of commencement events in 2015 on the way to graduating the largest number of students in its history.

reduction in crime; the fifth annual GCU Foundation Run to Fight Children’s Cancer, which has raised nearly $375,000 for Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Children’s Cancer Network; the launch of Canyon Angels, an investor group formed by the CCOB to help GCU students learn about investment strategies and fund startup businesses; the decision by GCU to not raise tuition on its west Phoenix campus for the eighth consecutive year; the expansion of GCU’s Chapel music to three bands, increasing the number of students involved; and the growth of global mission trips, from 257 students and staff visiting 16 countries in 2014 to 388 students and staff visiting 21 countries and regions this year.

Contact Janie Magruder at (602) 639-8018 or janie.magruder@gcu.edu. 

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By Laurie Merrill
GCU News Bureau

Clad in bright purple and strolling about campus in noisy groups, high school visitors are a familiar sight at Grand Canyon University. But the prospective Lopes visiting this week represent a new twist on a great idea: The students are attending an expanded VIP Discover event focusing on engineering, computer science and information technology.

“This is an invitation-only event for students who have expressed an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics),” said Amanda Hughens, GCU’s K-12 STEM outreach manager.

Throughout the year, the University rolls out the purple carpet for high school juniors and seniors who spend a night on campus as part of Discover GCU, a program that gives an inside glimpse at the University’s programs and campus amenities. More than 2,000 such students have visited so far in 2015-16, said Tara Scibona, marketing event manager.

GCU will host this weekend its first-ever VIP Discover event for high school students interested in STEM.

The estimated 200 students arriving this week will be treated to the same high-quality hospitality, but their experience will be tweaked to appeal to their interest in STEM curriculum, and they will spend two nights on campus instead of one.

The new program exemplifies one of GCU President Brian Mueller’s primary goals — to develop top-notch STEM programs and attract students who will excel in these subjects.

“Brian Mueller wanted to showcase the STEM program, and we decided to focus on that and do a STEM-specific event,” Scibona said.

Dr. Michael Sheller, associate dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET), and Assistant Dean Dr. Heather Gollnow Monthie will be among professors introducing GCU’s mechanical, electrical, bioengineering, computer science, IT and other programs.

Students from the ESports, Engineering and Innovative Computer clubs will lead breakout sessions about the clubs, providing substantiation of the success of GCU’s programs, Scibona said.

Other agenda highlights include a Major League Gaming Tournament: League of Legends overnight on Friday in GCU Arena and the men’s basketball game scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday, also in the Arena.

The growth in STEM careers is outpacing all other fields in the workforce, and GCU plans to increase the percentage of students studying these subjects to 70 percent of the student body by 2020.

“We want to develop a local workforce so that businesses are able to move here … and to improve the economic landscape of the entire area,” Hughens said.

Contact Laurie Merrill at (602) 639-6511 or Laurie.Merrill@gcu.edu.

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By Laurie Merrill
GCU News Bureau 

How do you know when you’re in the company of science, technology, engineering and math students at a Grand Canyon University panel event?

You might have a clue when one student proclaims “Yoda” as her role model, or it might be apparent when another names the late Steve Jobs of Apple fame. But the biggest giveaway is probably that more than a handful consider the word “nerd” a compliment.

For example, GCU sophomore Paul Rodriguez, president of the Innovative Computing Club, drew a laugh from dozens of high school students who were on campus last weekend when he said he constantly thinks about his club and invited everyone to join it.

“Every minute I live and breathe is how to improve it. … I’ve met most of my friends through it,” Rodriguez said. “It’s like a small dysfunctional family.”

Daniel Conrad of Spokane, Wash., attended the GCU STEM Discover event where he won a free meal plan for the first semester of his freshman year.

Rodriguez and other GCU student panelists fielded questions Saturday afternoon from high school juniors and seniors during an invitation-only VIP Discover event. Nearly 135 students interested in pursuing STEM degrees were treated to two nights on campus and an introduction to GCU’s growing STEM curriculum and related clubs and activities.

Professors from the College of Science, Engineering and Technology discussed mechanical, electrical, engineering, computer science, IT and other programs offered by the University. Students from various sports, engineering and computing clubs led breakout sessions about their activities.

Shekinah Ahina traveled from Hawaii to attend GCU’s invite-only STEM Discover event.

“The event went great!” said Tara Scibona, marketing event planner. “We had students up until 3 a.m. finishing out the League of Legends tournament.  They are definitely a dedicated crowd.”

Most were brimming with energy at the panel event the next afternoon, loudly calling “Go Lopes” and raising their hands in the “Lopes Up” sign.

Some, like Shekinah Ahina, from Waianae, Hawaii, came a long way to make sure GCU was the right place. Ahina, who traveled six hours by plane, said “actually almost 100 percent” certain that she will attend the University.

“Their faith base is really awesome, Ahina said. “And you get to learn here, but in a fun way.”

Daniel Conrad, from Spokane, Washington, was awarded a free meal plan for his first semester of freshman year because he stood out as a leader.

“Everyone has been really nice,” Conrad said, who is torn between studying mechanical engineering at GCU and training to become a pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

Panelists from the VIP Discover event panel Saturday made an immediate connection with the high school students.

“That’s a really important thing I feel I’ve been called to do,” he said.

In answer to what he likes best about GCU, student panelist Michael Ryan said that many professors don’t teach from a text book, but come from industry and teach from experience.

For Mary Mkrtchyan, a GCU biomedical engineering student, the best thing is the Learning Lounge, the University’s tutoring center.

“The Learning Lounge students are one of us, and the professors are truly amazing people,” she said.

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By Janie Magruder
GCU News Bureau

What would your classroom, office or department be like if everyone worked as if the Lord was their employer? Would your colleagues get along better, would the workday be more joyful and productive, and at the end of the day would you leave the building with less grousing on your lips?

The exploration of that concept was front and center at Friday’s Integration of Faith, Learning and Work “Lunch and Learn,” the fourth in a series this academic year. Nearly 90 Grand Canyon University faculty members and others packed Howerton Hall on campus to hear words of wisdom on the topic, “Work That Honors God.”

Interestingly, the guest speaker, Tamara Wisely, a professor in the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, and program moderator, Dr. Jason Hiles, dean of the College of Theology, independently chose the same Bible verses to frame their remarks:

“O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

Tamara Wisely

“Doing good is easy for most,” Wisely said. “Doing what’s right comes from the heart, and if you use God’s blueprint, the Bible, you can understand what God’s word says about doing His work.”

Doing the right thing, readily forgiving others and walking humbly can be especially challenging in a busy, competitive workplace, she acknowledged. But it is possible if praying, often and about everything, and being true to your values and intentional about your personal and professional growth are on your front burner.

If we are serious about honoring God, whether on or off the time clock, we will work on our personal or professional growth by knowing ourselves and our purpose, passion and commitment, Wisely said. We will work hard to recognize what, how and when to change about ourselves and evaluate our experiences on a daily basis, she noted.

If we are committed to honoring God with high character, Wisely said, we will choose to be positive   and honest, take ownership of situations and embrace bad experiences by asking, “What can I learn?”

Honoring God with servant leadership is achieved by, among other things, putting the needs of others first, developing new leaders, leading by example and living the “Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership” as espoused by James W. Sipe and Don M. Frick.

In all of this, prayer is key, said Wisely, who recommended praying before all meetings and classes. “Many times I’ll hear people say, and this depends on their walk … ‘Why do we even pray? If God knows it all and is all present, why do we pray?’” The answer, according to 20th-century evangelist Oswald Chambers, is that prayer changes us so that we can change things, even in the workplace, she said.

An ideal prayer: “Lord, let my words be Your words, let my actions be Your actions and change my heart to align with Your will.”

Wisely called on her audience to “step out and step up” in order to do God’s work. In response to a comment that stepping out is outside the comfort zone of some students, she said all that many need is an example and an invitation.

“They are so hungry to step out, but they need to know how and what that looks like and they need to know you are doing it, too,” she said.

Dr. Jason Hiles

Hiles used Exodus 31:1-8 to point out that God has called us to be committed to excellence, to do things well in our workplaces.

“Work that honors God entails excellence, but not only excellence in work, but excellence in workers,” he said. “That relates to what we do, the condition of our hearts as we work and how we go about our work.”

In Micah 6:6-7, he noted, God’s people are trying to be transactional with God about how they can draw nearer to Him:

“With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

Micah “clears the air” with verse 8 — do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God, Hiles said.

Of course, acting justly means not working in prostitution, human trafficking and drug smuggling, but all types of work can be done in unrighteous ways, even televangelists who rip off their viewers, he said. Christians do their jobs by demonstrating concern for each other, challenging systemic injustice and creating opportunities for the oppressed and underprivileged, Hiles said.

Loving mercy requires a heart check, he said, to ensure we truly do love others as we love ourselves, that we put their interests ahead of our own and that we serve them, rather than “lord” our authority or position over them. While we often create pecking orders in our offices, Jesus embraced the anti-pecking order, dining with sinners and tax collectors rather than the Pharisees, Hiles said.

From Hosea 6:6, “… ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Those whose hearts are close to God, Hiles said, tend to consider the needs of others over their own, but those far from God focus on themselves, he said.

Closing his presentation, Hiles quoted from 1 Peter 5:5 on walking humbly with God: “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”

The next Lunch and Learn, with Moronke Oke and a panel from the Colangelo College of Business, is Friday, Feb. 19. Faculty RSVPs for lunch are required (click here).

Contact Janie Magruder at (602) 639-8018 or janie.magruder@gcu.edu.

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With a big grin and seemingly endless supply of energy, Amanda Hughens, GCU’s K-12 STEM outreach manager, spreads STEM love throughout the region’s schools.

Story by Laurie Merrill
Photos by Darryl Webb
GCU News Bureau

You may know Amanda Hughens as Grand Canyon University’s K-12 STEM outreach manager, the force of energy who leads the mission to cultivate a passion for science, technology, engineering and math among children of all ages.

But Hughens does much more than serve as educator, professional development specialist and advocate for STEM programs at GCU and K-12 schools.

She is a redheaded blur of activity who wears more proverbial hats than a millinery’s model and whose resumé  is rife with adventurous as well as academic accomplishments.

For example:

• President of the Arizona Science Teachers Association? Check.
• Earning an MBA from GCU while working full time? Check.
• Starting a foundation to help underserved children? Check.
• Wife, mother and Girl Scout troop leader? Check, check and check.

“I have a problem with the word, ‘no,’ ’’ said Hughens, speaking from her office in GCU’s Academic Affairs Department, her signature grin spread across her face.

That Hughens brims with technological know-how might be surprising to those knew her as a writer, search-and-rescue diver, 7th grade science teacher or volleyball, basketball and track coach.

That she is on the cutting edge of STEM curriculum might prompt a quizzical look from her former fellow pre-med students and her hunting, hiking and fishing buddies.

Hughens wears so many hats it can make your head spin, yet she does it with aplomb.

Even Hughens herself might have been amazed, at the dawn of her passage, to learn where she would arrive one day. She was once certain she was heading full-steam ahead toward a medical career.

“I kind of fell into the tech world,” Hughens said.

From medicine to education to STEM

Hughens grew up as one of four children and the daughter of a defense contractor. They moved often. Hughens spent her senior year at Agua Fria High School, where she received her diploma. When she enrolled in the University of Arizona’s pre-med program, she fully expected she would become a doctor.

Her life veered in the summer of 1992. Because she had been a lifeguard for many years, the Rural/Metro fire service offered to finance her underwater search- and- rescue training. She became an emergency medical technician, and spent the summer looking for drowning and other victims.

The grim experience taught her that medicine was not her calling, despite her aptitude for science and math.

Hughens switched her major to education with an emphasis on science and transferred to Northern Arizona University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in 1994.

Her journey led her to develop an acumen for STEM education. In addition to teaching and writing stints, her resumé  includes such positions as director of educational technology for the Litchfield Elementary School District and trainer/curriculum designer at the Arizona K-12 Center. In various roles, she has developed STEM curriculum for educators and students.

One thing she has learned: If you want a job after college, consider studying science, technology, engineering and math.

“The big thing about STEM is that the growth in careers is outpacing all the fields,” Hughens said.

STEM a GCU priority

One of GCU President Brian Mueller’s primary goals is to attract students to the University’s rapidly expanding STEM programs and help meet a soaring demand in Arizona and around the country for employees in these fields. By 2020, the plan is for STEM students to comprise 70 percent of the University’s student body.

To further than goal, GCU hired Hughens in May 2014 as its first K-12 STEM outreach manager, in the Strategic Educational Alliances (SEA) department.

It was a reunion for Hughens and Tacy Ashby, SEA senior vice president. Hughens taught science for nearly six years in the Cave Creek Unified School District, where Ashby had been assistant superintendent.

With her seemingly endless arsenal of energy, Hughens takes delight in spreading STEM love to Arizona middle and high school students and their teachers. She organizes events such as robotics contests, fairs, conferences and summer camps, such as, “Amp it Up: The Science & Engineering of Guitar,” where participants built their own guitars.

She’s on to something: More than 100 principals, superintendents and curriculum leaders from public, private and charter schools attended a STEM Innovation Breakfast on Tuesday at GCU. The response was so overwhelming that Hughens moved the event to the Arena, and Mueller gave the opening talk.

“The STEM pipeline starts with our youngest students and allowing them the experiences and thirst for knowledge to continue building throughout high school and college so that they can enter the 21st century workforce prepared,” Hughens said. “I am excited to be a part of this pipeline here in Arizona and help our children be the innovators and problem solvers of the future.”

Contact Laurie Merrill at (602) 639-6511 or laurie.merrill@gcu.edu. 

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The new administration building is located at the busiest intersection on campus.

Story by Rick Vacek
Photos by Darryl Webb
GCU News Bureau

As if a new engineering building and a state-of-the-art recording studio weren’t enough …

As if four new residence halls for freshmen, creating a new community called The Grove, weren’t enough …

As if expanded and revolutionized food options, in a corridor christened Lopes Way, weren’t enough …

… There are even more construction projects — 12, to be exact — scheduled to be completed this year at Grand Canyon University. (Click here for a slideshow.) And according to Dean of Students Pastor Tim Griffin, the impact of the most important change, a new administration building right in the middle of everything at the intersection of the Promenade and Lopes Way, will be even more positive than all the changes in 2015.

“It doesn’t have the transformational feel that Lopes Way did, but in terms of the DNA of how student life happens on this campus as a result of student leadership, I actually think it may be more transformational,” he said. “We really think it’s going to exponentially expand our impact.”

The location of Griffin’s office in the four-story structure will be appropriately accessible. The door will be in the northeast corner, with the Student Union and Thunder Alley just a few steps away.

Right next to it on the first floor, also with outside entrances, will be the offices of the Canyon Activities Board, Spiritual Life, Life Leaders and Associated Students of GCU. Both Griffin and Jeremy Mack, director of the Office of Student Engagement, emphasized how important the one-stop shopping aspect will be.

An artist’s rendering shows the new administration building. with the soccer stadium to the west.

“Sometimes students are in the moment, so they just want to stop by real quick,” Mack said. “If they have to deviate from that path because of going to class or going to get something to eat, sometimes they lose that thought.

“That’ll be really nice to be right there. They just swing through on their way to class or on their way to lunch or whatever it is and get their questions answered.”

Student Engagement and Spiritual Life will fill the first floor of the building, while Career Services, Residence Life and the newly created Housing department will take up the second floor. Athletics will occupy the third floor, and the executive team and a number of other departments will be on the top floor.

While the building is scheduled to be completed by the end of March, the various offices aren’t expected to be in place until after the school year ends. Two other quick notes about it: (1) In case you’ve walked by and have wondered why the roof is slanted, there’s a simple reason — better drainage. And (2) construction crews were able to preserve the large iconic palm trees along the Promenade despite their close proximity to the building.

The L-shaped engineering building is under construction near the front of campus, with the soccer stadium in the background.

Right next to the administration building is the soccer stadium, which is getting the finishing touches on the roof and seating. It also is scheduled to be finished by the end of March, in plenty of time for the men’s and women’s soccer teams to get accustomed to it before the first games in August.

To the south, at the front of campus near Camelback Road, will be the second major engineering building to be erected in the past year. It will open in two phases — classrooms in August, labs shortly after.

The rest of the building activity is on the east side of campus and at 27th Avenue and Camelback Road.

The new engineering building is shown in this artist’s rendering.

More housing for more students

GCU’s residential community will get nearly 2,000 more beds, bringing the campus total to 11,000, with the addition of three apartment buildings scheduled to open for the 2016-17 school year. Returning students will get first crack at the apartments, which feature the privacy of single-person bedrooms.

All three six-story buildings will be in the same style as Papago I and II, which opened in 2014 to rave reviews from students. Agave is on 30th Avenue north of GCU’s offices on Colter Avenue, Encanto is just south of Papago II and Roadrunner is where the Tell Science building used to be.

To accommodate the continued expansion of campus life, the Housing department, directed by Janay Poole, was spun off from Residence Life. Here’s a factoid that demonstrates why that move was necessary: The number of resident advisers will be up to almost 300 in August, about 100 more than just two years earlier.

Residence Life, like Student Engagement and Spiritual Life, will benefit greatly from being in the new administration building in terms of location and accessibility. “Having a space where students can interact with staff has always been the standard,” said Matt Hopkins, Residence Life director.

Work also has begun on the new parking garage at 29th Avenue and Camelback Road, which will be the same size as The Grove Garage on the northwest corner of campus. It will have space for 2,400 cars and, like the new apartments, is scheduled to be open for the start of the next school year.

The Roadrunner apartment building is just south of Prescott Hall, which is in the background.

The number of recreational areas on campus continues to grow as well. New intramural fields at 30th and Colter avenues opened this month, and another artificial-turf field and sand volleyball and basketball courts next to Cypress and Canyon halls are expected to open this spring (click here to read GCU Today’s story about the booming intramural program).

There also is plenty of activity at the GCU office and hotel complex on Camelback between 27th Avenue and Interstate 17.

An office building and parking garage, both four stories, are expected to be ready by November. That will enable the University to centralize operations by bringing employees from the Peoria and Tempe offices to work in west Phoenix.

The nearby Grand Canyon University Hotel also has two significant additions opening in the next few months. The new swimming pool is on course to be ready in March, and the new lobby and restaurant, which will go on the 27th Avenue side of the building, are expected to be complete by summer.

Rich Oesterle, director of campus development, said the campus and 27th Avenue complex will fill 7.6 million square feet after these 12 projects are done. And while there’s no doubt that more are on the horizon, the main part of campus is getting closer to becoming a finished product. The transformation is in good shape.

Contact Rick Vacek at 602-639-8203 or rick.vacek@gcu.edu.

The post Campus expansion will reach even more students appeared first on GCU Today.

Story by Laurie Merrill
Photos by Darryl Webb
GCU News Bureau

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Phoenix Section on Saturday named GCU President Brian Mueller the 2015 “Non-Member” of the year.

Mueller, who has made it a priority to expand STEM programs and enrollment at GCU to build a highly trained workforce, was honored for “for outstanding leadership in providing affordable education and STEM programs, developing future American force and revitalizing west Phoenix both socially and economically.”

The University also was given a plaque for corporate sponsorship of the organization.

From left to right, CSET students Tim Prescott, Michael Teberg, Tayler Shurley and Josh Tipton are among those involved in GCU’s first Engineering Club.

Some of Saturday’s spotlight shone on four College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) students in attendance and their role in starting GCU’s first Engineering Club.

GCU Provost Dr. Hank Radda, who accepted the award on Mueller’s behalf, spoke about how GCU’s engineering program is blossoming.

The University opened its first engineering school this fall with more than 250 students in three areas, and the program continues outstanding growth, he said. A new engineering building opened in August, and a second one is under construction.

To help anticipate the needs of the workforce and develop top-notch programs, GCU faculty and leaders meet regularly with more than 40 industry advisers.

Radda also noted the three freshmen and one sophomore in the audience who represent part of why STEM is so important at GCU, Radda said. They are among charter members of GCU’s first Engineering Club and might help form GCU’s first IEEE student chapter.

All four students said they transferred to GCU specifically to take advantage of the University’s thriving STEM programs.

Tayler Shurley, a freshman mechanical engineering major and Engineering Club president, said she hopes to work in the aeronautics and and/or military defense industries.

“I’ve always liked math and science and building things,” Shurley said.

GCU’s Dr. Hank Radda accepts an award on behalf of President Brian Mueller for leadership in STEM advancement.

Michael Teberg, also a freshman engineering major and the Engineering Club treasurer, said he chose his major because of his aptitude in math.

Josh Tipton, a freshman electrical engineering major and club member, said he attended six Maricopa County community schools before settling on GCU as the place for him to pursue his passion for engineering.

Sophomore IT major Tim Prescott wants to develop a new electronic health system for doctors because today’s systems are too difficult and time-consuming.

“I want to make it easier to practice medicine,” Prescott said.

Prescott also said he was impressed with how much IEEE does to help the community. For example, it supports Akshaya Patra, a charity that feeds 1.4 million children in India by providing healthy lunches at more than 10,000 government schools.

“Someone said IEEE is a well-kept secret,” Prescott said. “I think there should be more publicity about what they are doing.”

Contact Laurie Merrill at (602) 639-6511 or laurie.merrill@gcu.edu. 

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By Laurie Merrill
GCU News Bureau  

People who work or study at Grand Canyon University probably know about such high-profile student groups as Havocs with Heart, the Speech and Debate team, and Educators Rising.

But tinkering just out of sight is another association of altruists: the Innovative Computing (iC) Club, composed of techies with tender hearts dedicated to putting their know-how to good use.

Members of GCU’s Innovative Computing Club and their advisers display one of 100 computers they retrofitted and are deploying to charities.

About two dozen club members have toiled tirelessly after school for the last year to refurbish, reprogram and redeploy 100 donated computers.

This month, they began sending the fully equipped desktops — complete with monitors, keyboards and mice — to four Arizona organizations that help disadvantaged community members.

“It’s a mission project,” said the club’s president, Paul Rodriguez. “It is one of the things that is very important to our club, mission work through technology.”

Three recipients are in the Phoenix area: the American Indian College, North Mountain Community Assembly and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office community relations program, which supports mentoring and tutoring of disadvantaged youth.

The fourth, Higher Ground, is a Christian-based community resource center in Tucson and exemplifies the long reach of GCU’s community involvement, said Dr. Steve Powelson, College of Science, Engineering and Technology IT faculty member.

“GCU should be branded throughout our state as the University that cares by providing an opportunity for positive generational change offering a Christ-centered, relevant education,” he said.

iC club members are as eager to apply and share what they have learned as they are to attain the knowledge, Powelson said.

From left, club officers Ben Schinn, treasurer, Bridgette Smith, secretary, LaMarr Pace, vice president, and Paul Rodriguez, president, stand next to a reburbished computer.

“They are gifted, they are committed, they really invest in this,” he said. “They take what they learn and they really leverage it.”

The club’s many co-curricular activities have included refurbishing an old-fashioned arcade game into a new gaming device and building a small, pet-like robot named Gubbins, Powelson said.

Poweslon is the club’s co-adviser along with fellow CSET professor Luke Kanuchok, who was instrumental in the club’s formation.

Students chose their compassion mission almost as soon as they formed the club in the fall of 2014, said LaMarr Pace, club vice president and project organizer.

It took more than a year — and some magic from professors — to make it happen, Pace said.

The first step, the donation of 100 OptiPlex computers from GCU, was facilitated by CSET Associate Dean Dr. Michael Sheller. “Dr. Sheller pulled some strings and knew who to call for what,” Rodriguez said.

The students wanted to donate complete desktops, install an inexpensive yet effective operating system, and include the capacity to remotely communicate with the users. After extensive research, they chose Linux Mint, an open-source system that is close to what the industry is using, Pace said.

Powelson helped the club clear another hurdle when he procured 100 monitors, keyboards and mice from IBM.

“He’s like our Gandalf. He comes when needed,” Rodriguez said.

Powelson, an entrepreneur who has operated his own technology and equity finance businesses for more than 25 years, said the credit is misplaced.

Club members posing next to the computers they are giving to four Arizona organizations.

“I think God had something to do with it,” he said of the IBM donation.

The computers have a blue and white desktop image featuring the Innovative Computing (iC) logo and a Bible verse from 1 John 4:7: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

Contact Laurie Merrill at (602) 639-6511 or laurie.merrill@gcu.edu. 

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From left, the 2016 Alumni Hall of Fame inductees: Dr. Nicholas Markette, Dr. Brian Bucina, Andy Unkefer, Dr. Jim Rice, Max Fose and John Davis. (Photos by Keith Alstrin)

By Rick Vacek
GCU News Bureau

At most college reunions, the phrase “My, how you’ve changed!” can be heard repeatedly as old friends renew acquaintances.

But Grand Canyon University is not just any university. Here, the phrase has an entirely different meaning.

Dr. Nicholas Markette

When six new members were inducted Saturday into GCU’s Alumni Hall of Fame, the physical changes on the main campus frequently were referenced. The view out the window from the gathering spot, the fourth floor of the Student Union, toward The Grove, the massive new complex of freshman residence halls, is just one example why.

But there’s more to it than that. And the one thing the inductees emphasized is that, while the look of the University certainly has changed, its values have not. If anything, they said, they are even more impressed with how it is carrying out its mission for its students and the community.

Take it from two of the new Hall of Famers, one an employee and the other a member of the board of directors.

Dr. Jim Rice

Dr. Nicholas Markette, the inductee from the College of Doctoral Studies, supervises 24 dissertation chairs and also has been a teacher in the Colangelo College of Business since 2008. He said he tells his students about all the construction projects, “If you don’t like it, just wait a week and it will change,” but the one constant in his work has been far more important.

“I don’t have to hide my faith here,” he said. “And I bring it to my classroom. It just is who I am. You can’t separate from it, and here I have that freedom. I teach organizational ethics, and how do you get into ethics without incorporating the truth? This university gives you that opportunity to do it and bring value to students. It’s just a great place to be.”

In addition to sharing his faith, Markette has a joyous approach to teaching that was reflected in the sense of humor he displayed during his induction speech when he said, “I don’t think I’ve seen so many purple ties in one place before” and joked that after looking at the accomplishments of the 2015 Hall of Fame inductees, he thought that “you had to be big enough to stop a locomotive.” His strength is his spirit.

John Davis

“I always go into my classroom thinking, ‘What would I want if I was a master’s student tonight?’ or ‘What would I want if I were a doctoral student tonight and I’ve been working all day and I’m wondering if my kids have eaten dinner? I’ve got all these plates spinning — what would I want?'” he said.

“I would want to have fun. The premise I bring into the classroom is, there are people in other countries who would kill to be able to pursue their master’s or their doctorate, so let’s have fun, let’s enjoy this and embrace God’s gift, because that’s what it is. Not enjoying it would almost be somewhere between a sin and a tragedy.”

Dr. Jim Rice, the College of Education inductee, has gotten to see the inner workings of the University’s growth through his membership in the board of directors. He was asked if the special spirit is evident in those meetings.

“It is,” he said. “You have a visionary (President Brian Mueller) who’s the leader. You have people like Dr. Stan Meyer (chief operating officer), Dan Bachus (chief financial officer) and Dr. Hank Radda (University provost) on the leadership team. You’ve got people like Jerry Colangelo involved. You’re in awe.

Max Fose

“When you’re in the boardroom and you’re given a spreadsheet with the financial condition of the University and see how healthy it is and how we’re attracting more kids to this University, you know it’s something special.”

The special feeling was felt by the other four inductees as well Saturday.

John Davis, the athletics inductee for his stellar golf career at GCU, said he felt it by being on campus again even though it has changed so dramatically from when he was here regularly around the turn of the century. “There’s something about just walking from the parking garage to here,” he said. “I had that feeling today.”

Max Fose, representing the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, said he is “awestruck” by the growth but appreciates even more what the University did for him. “They challenged me to be a better person, a better man, and that’s still with me today,” he said.

Dr. Brian Bucina

Dr. Brian Bucina, the College of Science, Engineering and Technology inductee, said he wouldn’t have believed in 1998 that GCU could look like this today, but “the one thing I believed in 1998 is that we would have had the success our graduates have had.”

Andy Unkefer, representing the Colangelo College of Business, pointed out that, even with all the new bricks and mortar, the foundation of the University hasn’t changed.

“It really hasn’t,” he said. “We used to have really fantastic Chapels. Our teachers prayed in class with us. Nursing students were in demand. The baseball team was very good. And a former pro basketball player who coaches the team once played for the Suns.”

All of those features are still in place, of course, right down to Dan Majerle following in the hoop footsteps of Paul Westphal. But people still can’t get over the growth.

Andy Unkefer

Asked if he had any inkling of what was he was signing up with when he transitioned in 2008 from master’s graduate to instructor, Markette said, “I don’t know that I saw this vision, but I knew something good was coming. I just sensed it in my heart. I think it just points to this: If God is the focus, the rest just naturally falls where it needs to fall.”

My, how it has changed, and yet so much has stayed the same.

Contact Rick Vacek at (602) 639-8203 or rick.vacek@gcu.edu.

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By Marette Hahn
GCU Career Services

When you sit down with Autumn Gilchriest and Stephen Crane, this month’s Student Workers of the Month, you immediately feel at ease. They exude hard work, customer service, strategic thinking and a true enjoyment of working with others.

Gilchriest and Crane both started their student worker experience at the ITS Staff Help Desk. However, with their exemplary work ethics and service-oriented dispositions, it’s not a surprise that they were promoted to even bigger responsibilities.

Stephen Crane and Autumn Gilchriest display their Student Worker of the Month awards.

Gilchriest, a senior Forensic Sciences major, now works as a Network Operations Center (NOC) Technician, where she gets to try her hand with servers on a much larger scale.  Crane, a junior Entrepreneurial Studies major, is now with End Point, which requires a higher level of technology software understanding and supports full-time staffers.

Gilchriest initially applied for the NOC full-time position just to practice interviewing, and they were so impressed with her and her potential, they brought her on as a student worker so she could start learning earlier.

When she’s not busy taking care of our servers, she is out enjoying her classwork, which includes learning about instrumental analysis, toxicology, blood spatter and DNA testing. As if that wasn’t enough, she’s also in a band (name yet to be determined) and sings on the weekends.

Crane also started his student worker career at the IT Help Desk before working his way up to End Point, where he ensures that staff is equipped and prepared to use the equipment and we have the technology we need to be successful.

When he’s not working, you can find him in his early Colangelo College of Business classes, at Chapel on Mondays, playing Ultimate Frisbee or basketball, at youth group, or hiking. He’s excited to apply his entrepreneurial education to wherever his career path takes him.

Both Gilchriest and Crane were nominated for Student Worker of the Month by Bree Speed and Shareka Purnell. Robert Knowlton also nominated Gilchriest.

They wrote about Gilchriest: “She … upholds the values of the mission by celebrating community. She has brought a vibrant energy dedicated to building relationships across multiple teams that provides compassionate support to our internal customers.”

About Crane, they wrote: “Stephen stepped up when an opportunity to work in another location presented itself. In doing so, he showed his overall job knowledge and that we could trust him to be a self-starter and get work done.”

In their presence, it’s obvious that Gilchriest and Crane work hard and are well-rounded with customer service focuses. Gilchriest shared that her desire to work in forensics, and eventually computer forensics, began with former teachers Mr. Semenjuk and Mr. Johnson when they fueled her passion for the sciences. Crane shared his appreciation for his coworkers and wanted to give a shout-out to his “P-Town boys.”

It’s evident these two have bright futures ahead of them and will make GCU proud no matter where they go.

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By Laurie Merrill
GCU News Bureau  

Healing broken bones outside the body.

Continually monitoring blood sugar in diabetics.

Regenerating aging facial skin.

These ideas may sound like science fiction, but they are within the realm of possibility in the rapidly advancing field of medical device technology, industry leaders told Grand Canyon University students and faculty Tuesday at the 2016 Solutions Challenge University Roadshow.

The two-hour event in GCU’s STEM building was intended to ignite ideas and encourage student-faculty teams to sign up for this year’s Solution Challenge 2016, run by BioAccel, a non-profit, Arizona-based business incubator.

The challenge is for teams of engineering, business and medical majors to identify — and solve — a current medical problem using new technology. Winners in the Dec. 1 showdown could receive up to $100,000 in seed funding.

Pam Goux, with Medtronic, demonstrates an early generation pacemaker.

“It all starts with an idea,” said Dr. Michael Mobley, executive director of GCU’s Center for Integrated Sciences, Engineering and Technology. “We want you, as students, to get really involved.”

The event is a first for GCU’s fledgling engineering program, which debuted last fall.

Pam Goux, associate talent acquisition specialist at Medtronic, the Tempe-based medical technology company and challenge sponsor, said the company is excited to work with GCU’s future engineers.

“We’re at the beginning stages, but we’re hoping to develop a relationship,” Goux said. Among advantages: GCU students will be invited to apply for some of the 16 internships the company offers yearly.

Medtronic displayed early and current generations of medical technology, and the differences were apparent, especially in size: The first pacemakers were enormous compared to today’s miniature versions.

Medtronic founder Earl Bakken started the company in 1949 after he was challenged to come up with a pacemaker that didn’t have to be plugged into a wall, Goux said. In those days, if the electricity went out, heart patients died.

Bakken developed a battery-operated pacemaker, Goux said, and today, Medtronic is one of the world’s largest developers of medical technology.

Goux displaying a more recent pacemaker.

Several students said afterward they are considering entering the Solutions Challenge, and others said they will apply for a Medtronic internship.

Tayler Shurley, a freshman mechanical engineering major and Engineering Club president, said she enjoyed the networking opportunity and will pursue a club tour of Medtronic’s Tempe laboratory.

Students who want to enter the Solutions Challenge should apply through the BioAccel web page. Pre-submission deadline is April 30, and the full application is due Sept. 15. Finalists will present ideas to a “SharkTank”-like Scorpion Pit on Dec. 1.

Contact Laurie Merrill at (602) 639-6511 or laurie.merrill@gcu.edu. 

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By Laurie Merrill
GCU News Bureau  

Grand Canyon University nursing student Megan Ziegler is only a sophomore, but she knows her anatomy.

What is the weight of an adult liver? “Three to four pounds, on average,” she told a group of spellbound students from Poston Butte High School in San Tan Valley during a recent tour.

How far can a stomach stretch? “To a football size.”

What is a brain like? “Sixty percent fat, with a tofu texture.”

Students from Poston Butte High School get a tour of one of GCU’s five cadaver labs. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

Ziegler was not only spouting facts, she also was holding the organs in gloved hands during a recent Human Anatomy Workshop (HAWS) that GCU conducts for interested high school students.

In addition to the HAWS demonstration room, GCU has four other cadaver labs on campus, two in the Colangelo College of Business, left over from when it used to be a science building, and two besides HAWS in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology.

Tours of GCU’s cadaver labs will be a popular agenda item Tuesday when GCU hosts hundreds of high school students and conducts STEM-oriented activities during Forensic Science Day 2016.

Visitors will be invited to learn about forensic science and other STEM fields and have the opportunity to participate in a crime scene competition, watch live police dog demonstrations, observe blood spatter reconstruction and more.

Michael Bodeen, GCU lead instructor for human dissection, discusses the lure of the labs.

GCU’s cadaver labs, and the fact that undergraduates can dissect cadavers inside them, are among the most compelling of GCU’s STEM degree program draws.

“We are one of the only universities doing this at an undergraduate level,” said Michael Bodeen, CSET lead instructor for human dissection. “It gives students an experience that is the over-the-top good.”

The program sets GCU apart, Bodeen said. GCU’s philosophy is that students are never too young to perform dissections, which in fact promote self-confidence and provide an early glimpse into the medical professions, he said.

As Bodeen elaborated on the growing popularity of the GCU’s dissection programs, a sophomore was working on a cadaver nearby.

A skeleton is also a learning tool in GCU’s cadaver labs. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

“She’s in here working on a cadaver on her own,” Bodeen said, something unheard of at many other Arizona colleges.

GCU has nearly 20 cadavers, more than any other Arizona university at the undergraduate level, including Arizona State, Bodeen said.

The body parts that nursing student Ziegler held for students to see came from an older cadaver whose organs were harvested, Bodeen said.

“The gallbladder holds bile,” Ziegler told the Poston Butte students during their HAWS visit. “The tongue has eight different muscles that are used together.”

Ziegler also sought to dispel the “myth” that humans only use 10 percent of their brains.

“We use 95 percent of the brain just to walk,” she said.

Contact Laurie Merrill at (602) 639-6511 or laurie.merrill@gcu.edu. 

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By Lauren Michelsen
GCU News Bureau

Grand Canyon University’s thriving STEM Scholars program was honored Monday night at the Peoria Education Foundation’s 11th annual Education Visionary Awards at the Arizona Broadway Theatre in Peoria.

Sarah Boeder, senior vice president of campus operations, was on hand to receive the Community Partner Award, given to GCU for its work with the Peoria Unified School District.

Sarah Boeder, GCU’s senior vice president of campus operations, displays the award the University received for its STEM Scholars program.

The STEM Scholars program offers high school students the chance to not only have hands-on learning in the STEM fields based out of their own schools but also earn up to a year of tuition-free college credit through dual enrollment.

In addition, GCU offers a cohort class in the summer in which the STEM Scholars can interact and learn in the cadaver labs on campus. The program is “extremely innovative,” Boeder said, “(because) we are educating our neighbors for the jobs of the future.”

The STEM Scholars program is unique in that it reaches out to the community and gives students the opportunity to be inspired and driven by education, Boeder said, adding that while the program is still relatively young, it has been immensely successful in its early stages and shows no signs of slowing down.

“This is bigger than just graduating students, it’s big for the future of America,” she said.

Contact Lauren Michelsen at (602) 639-6703 or lauren.michelsen@gcu.edu.

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Photos by Darryl Webb
GCU News Bureau

The Grand Canyon University campus was filled with high school students from across Arizona on Tuesday morning as they participated in Forensic Science Day. Students took delight in trying to figure out crime scenes and learned about the intricacies of forensics.

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Hundreds of high school students attended GCU’s 2016 Forensic Science Day. (Photo by Darryl Webb)

By Laurie Merrill
GCU News Bureau  

Take busloads of would-be forensic scientists, put them in front of a “murder scene” and ask them to solve it, and you have one of the most popular activities at Grand Canyon University’s event-packed 2016 Forensic Science Day.

The teams of high school students from across Arizona who attempted to crack the case were among hundreds who participated Tuesday in the annual event showcasing GCU’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) degrees. (Click here to see photographer Darryl Webb’s slideshow from the event.)

“I assume you are here because you love science,” Dr. Jon Valla, College of Science, Engineering and Technology assistant dean, said as he addressed the visitors in GCU’s Arena.

Forensic science isn’t just about solving crime: Forensic science majors must excel in biology, chemistry and other rigorous science classes, just as future biochemists and molecular scientists do, Valla said.

Throughout the busy morning, students heard speakers from the Scottsdale and Phoenix police departments, the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office and GCU professors. They went on tours of DNA and cadaver labs and observed a police dog demonstration.

But the more dramatic events took place under tents outside, where participants tested their abilities in crime evidence reconstruction, fingerprint and handwriting analysis, DNA extraction and more.

Crime Scene Challenge

One of the biggest crowds surrounded the mock crime scene set up by GCU’s forensic science majors.

Future forensic science sleuths competed in a crime scene challenge.

Two of the sleuths were Sydney Janssen and Ameerah Battle from Betty H. Fairfax High School in Phoenix, who took copious notes as they discussed the evidence.

In the middle of the crime scene lay a female mannequin wearing shorts, a plaid shirt and boots.

“Is that a stab wound on her shirt?” Janssen asked, pointing to a round red spot on the victim’s chest. “Was she stabbed to death?”

The “corpse” clenched a “gun” (actually a green water gun) in her right hand. Two spent cartridges littered the floor. A knife lay near her left hand.

Three wine glasses, each smudged with lipstick, were part of the scene, and the victim wore lipstick, though it appeared she had foamed at the mouth.

“I wonder if there were two or three people?” Janssen said.

“Maybe they had a few glasses before she got murdered and overdosed,” Battle said.

Two crime scene analysts were Ameerah Battle (left) and Sydney Janssen, juniors from Betty H. Fairfax High School in Laveen.

Four plates containing what appeared to be narcotics, marijuana, heroin and cocaine were on the table. Several hypodermic needles were present, and white powder had spilled on the ground near the victim’s head.

Bloody footprints stained the floor nearby.

“It is clear they were drug addicts,” Battle said. “The person lying on the ground definitely overdosed and the gun was put in her hand.”

But a moment later, Battle had a new theory: “The victim fought, fell back, tried to get back up,” she said. “The person on the ground was trying to shoot the other person.”

A team from Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale had other ideas.

“We think that the victim was actually the shooter. Whoever killed the victim was shot. We think she was stabbed,” said Hailey Hudson, a Mountain Ridge junior.

The blood spatters were consistent with blood dripping from a wound, not from high-velocity impact, said Sydney Werbach, another junior.

Furthermore, “the footprints don’t match her shoes,” Hudson said.

Fingerprint and analysis

While it’s true that every fingerprint is unique, more than 65 percent of our fingertips contain “loops,” said Heidi Bailey, a GCU forensic science major.

Fingerprint characteristics were on display.

Another 35 percent of our fingers have whorls (a pattern of spirals or concentric circles), while only 5 percent have plain or tented arches, Bailey said.

Bailey and other forensic science majors encouraged onlookers to check out their own fingerprints, providing red ink and white paper, and referred to a colorful poster depicting fingerprint characteristics.

Bailey said that latent fingerprints are invisible to the naked eye, but methods such as using powder, putting items in an oven and “superglue fuming” can help investigators identify prints.

‘Blood’ spatter tent

Easily the most colorful was the “blood” spatter booth, where red, blue and green paint was substituted for the real thing.

Participants garbed in coveralls beat a paint-soaked sponge with a hammer, simulating a suspect fatally bludgeoning a victim, and squirted paint from a tube, mimicking blood spraying from an injured artery.

“This is a blast,” said Courtney Hogan, a teacher at Sonoran Science Academy in Tucson.

Courtney Hogan, left, and Diana Benson, teachers from Sonoran Science Academy in Tucson, check out the blood spatter tent.

Analysts gather crucial evidence from blood remnants, including whether a suspect is right- or left-handed, the victim was standing or lying down, or whether they were facing forward or backward, said Julia Howell, a GCU forensic science senior.

Mountain Ridge High School is big winner

The estimated 100 teams that entered the crime scene challenge were asked to identify the scenario, correctly list the important pieces of evidence and how they would process it.

“It was a drug deal gone wrong,” announced Dr. Melissa Beddow, GCU’s forensic science program director.

As it turned out, the first-, second- and third-place winners ─ Ferg’s Faves, the Murder Aprons and Crime Sceners ─ all are from Mountain Ridge High School.

Contact Laurie Merrill at 602-639-6511 or laurie.merrill@gcu.edu.

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