GCU News

Story by Ashlee Larrison
Photos by David Kadlubowski
GCU News Bureau

After the pandemic-induced strain of the last few months, we all need a little laughter. And that is exactly what Ethington Theatre’s production of “The Comedy of Errors” will provide beginning Wednesday night.

The laughs will come on a newly constructed outdoor stage as the College of Fine Arts and Production kicks off its 2020-21 theatre season with one of William Shakespeare’s most comedic plays, which offers a refreshing reminder of the importance of learning to walk in another’s shoes.

The production of “The Comedy of Errors” will debut on the newly constructed outdoor stage.

The show, scheduled for 8 p.m. from Wednesday through Sunday outside the Fine Arts Building and also viewable on livestream, highlights two sets of identical twins who were separated at birth and the mishaps that ensue when they are mistaken for each other.

It is the shortest comedy Shakespeare wrote, and the director, COFAP Acting Instructor Michael Kary, wanted to take the production one step further to make it unique. The show, which is not typically known to contain a musical element, will showcase original compositions and choreography by senior theatre major Ryan Ardelt.

“I always look at, when we do Shakespeare here, how to make it accessible and understandable,” Kary said. “Ryan has done an amazing job of weaving the feel of the show into three big musical numbers.

“I think it’s really going to set us apart from any other version of this that anyone has seen, ever.”

For Ardelt, the best part of the experience was the opportunity to work alongside Kary, who wrote the lyrics to two of the three musical numbers. Kary entrusted Ardelt to compose and write lyrics for the final number.

Original musical numbers were added to the production.

“It was definitely an interesting process because we’re taking Shakespeare’s work and adapting it into song,” Ardelt said.

Ardelt was nervous about taking on the finale but was able to have fun with it and learn something new about himself in the process.

“I definitely stretched myself as an artist, and I’m really happy he had me do the whole finale myself,” he said. “It pushed me in ways I haven’t been pushed before.”

Leads Antipholus of Syracuse, played by Christian Bradford, and Antipholus of Ephesus, played by Brandon Brown, said the outdoor production gives a new Grand Canyon University look to the widely beloved Shakespeare in the park.

“I’ve really enjoyed getting to do it (the performance) outside because it’s new and fun,” Brown said. “I think this would be the show to do outside.”

Bradford said the message of the show is as timely as ever despite being written more than 400 years ago.

“My favorite thing about Shakespeare is that his work is still performed and his work is still done because it’s timeless, because it’s themes that, for as long as humanity goes on, we will never not face,” he said. “When you come to see ‘The Comedy of Errors,’ you’ll notice that the twins, me and Brandon, are very different. Brandon is a small little white kid, and here I am this 6-foot black guy and we’re twins.

“Michael’s idea was, it’s this concept of you don’t see the difference between the two twins, and I think that’s a theme that the world really needs to examine.”

Cast members will be wearing masks to provide additional protection.

Hallie Unruh, who plays Dromio of Syracuse, said her role helped her explore the more comedic side of acting since she normally plays more serious roles.

“It has been the most fun and the most freeing to just literally play,” she said. “It’s just having fun.”

The safety measures go beyond being outside — the performers also will be wearing clear face masks.

“We’re trying to keep students as safe as possible,” Kary said.

It also makes it safer for the audience, which has an opportunity to see a very relatable version of Shakespeare.

“It’s very fast and fun,” Brown said. “I don’t think we’ve ever done anything like this, so people should come check it out to experience it just for the sake of saying you were there when it happened.”

IF YOU GO

What: “The Comedy of Errors” by William Shakespeare.

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, through Sunday, Oct. 4

Where: Outdoors stage on the field on the outside of the COFAP building

Tickets: This show is a closed production for GCE and GCU employees, students and faculty members. It can be viewed via livestream on YouTube.

Information: 602-639-8800 or ethington@gcu.edu

Contact Ashlee Larrison at (602) 639-8488 or ashlee.larrison@gcu.edu.

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GCU Today: Fine Arts goes all out to improvise for students

The post ‘Comedy of Errors’ kicks off outdoor theatre season appeared first on GCU Today.

Allocate to Elevate has helped Michael McKenney send his children, Domenica and Gabriel (from left), to private Christian schools. McKenney is an Assistant Professor and Clinical Coordinator of the Athletic Training Education Program for the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions.

By Lana Sweeten-Shults
GCU News Bureau

Michael McKenney (center) is the athletic trainer and Performance Enhancement Coach for Arizona Lutheran Academy.

Attending private school never was in the realm of possibility for Michael McKenney. He grew up in a trailer park in Michigan, and private school or college or a life beyond the boundaries of that trailer park were far-flung ideas in far-away places.

The movie “8 Mile,” set in inner urban Detroit, sums up his formative school years, he said.

“I grew up in a place where most kids didn’t even complete high school, so it was a big leap mentally,” said McKenney, Grand Canyon University Assistant Professor and Clinical Coordinator of the Athletic Training Education Program for the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions.

So when McKenney and his wife, Cristina, thought about their own children’s education, they wanted more for them. They wanted to turn the impossible to something possible even though they knew the cost of private school would be a barrier.

“A few years ago, I didn’t even consider sending my son to a private Christian school, but a friend challenged me to not limit what God wanted,” said McKenney, who outside of GCU has served as an athletic trainer for Team USA at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and has worked with the UCI BMX World Championships for several years, most recently in Belgium in 2019.

Employees can divert what they might owe on their state taxes to Habitat for Humanity, School Choice and public school extracurricular programs through Allocate to Elevate.

McKenney accepted that challenge.

He turned to his colleagues and workplace-giving program Allocate to Elevate, and what was once far away and far-flung no longer was.

The initiative, in its ninth year, takes what GCU and Grand Canyon Education employees otherwise would pay into state taxes and diverts them to Habitat for Humanity (for the renovation of homes in the communities near GCU), public school extracurricular programs (such as art or athletic programs) or School Choice Arizona so parents, such as McKenney, can afford to send their children to private Christian schools.

It was in 2013 that the University unveiled Allocate to Elevate, then called Donate to Elevate, which is funded through the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. That first year, employees redirected $218,000 of their tax dollars, and as the University has grown, so has that annual goal.

Organizers recently announced a bold $3.2 million goal for the 2020-21 giving season.

Sheila Jones, K12 Educational Development Program Director, said participating in Allocate to Elevate does not affect an employees take-home pay.

Sheila Jones, K12 Educational Development Program Director and the Allocate to Elevate coordinator, doesn’t doubt that the campus community will do everything it can to reach that goal, as it does every year.

Last year, stymied by a global pandemic, uncertainty and economic challenges, employees exceeded more than $3.1 million of contributions.

“GCU and GCE did such a good job on the front end (before the pandemic),” to reach that number, said Jones.

The beauty of the program: “It doesn’t cost a dime,” she said. “It won’t affect your paycheck.”

Employees are simply telling the state how they want their tax dollars spent.

“The program is so easy,” McKenney added. “It literally takes 2 minutes to fill out a form.”

Taking that initiative has been life-affirming for the McKenneys, who are thankful to have a choice of where they send their children to school.

McKenney (right) with son Gabriel.

The family chose to send son Gabriel, 16, to Arizona Lutheran Academy, and daughter Domenica, 13, to Emmanuel Lutheran.

“It’s a blessing to allow our son to go to a school where like-minded individuals want to provide education through the lens of truth with a biblical viewpoint.”

Tuition for Gabriel’s junior year at Arizona Lutheran is covered, with a majority of the funds coming from Allocate to Elevate.

McKenney said it wasn’t easy to ask co-workers for help: “It requires humility to go to your colleagues,” he said.

But so many of them were overjoyed to do so.

“It’s been so worth it,” he said. “What’s interesting is that sending our son to this school has been more than we ever imagined. … It’s actually our family becoming part of a community.”

McKenney volunteers at his son’s high school as its Performance Enhancement Coach. He also serves as the school’s athletic trainer “to help out and give back.” Many private schools do not have the funding of bigger schools and can’t afford those kinds of positions.

Being at his son’s school also has allowed him to get to know his son’s friends and, ultimately, strengthen the bonds of his own family.

And because his own family saw the graciousness of others, it inspired McKenney and his family to do the same. He and his wife have been rerouting their tax dollars to help another colleague’s child attend private Christian school through Allocate to Elevate.

“We find just as much joy being a participant,” said McKenney, who added how GCU has been blessed, even during the pandemic.

“This is an opportunity to be intentional with that (those blessings),” he said, “and serve God’s kingdom.”

Senior writer Lana Sweeten-Shults can be reached at lana.sweeten-shults@gcu.edu or at 602-639-7901.

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How to participate in Allocate to Elevate:

Allocate to Elevate web page

Pledge form

Video

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GCU Today: GCU is helping paint new view of West Phoenix

GCU Today: Allocate funds by April 15 for tax credit

The post Allocate to Elevate lifting community for 9th year appeared first on GCU Today.

An artist’s version of what indoor-outdoor flex space may look like in the new apartment complex at GCU.

By Mike Kilen
GCU News Bureau

The amenities will be distinctive at a new Grand Canyon University campus housing complex, which last week entered the initial stages of construction off Missouri and 29^th avenues.

Three student apartment buildings will include first-floor plazas that feature indoor-outdoor flex space for fitness, an arcade and dining/coffee gathering spots.

It’s called theRivers, a complex that includes an adjacent 2,800-car parking garage and is scheduled to open in August 2021. It will add 1,800 beds to increase on-campus housing capacity to nearly 16,000.

“Over 70 percent of our (traditional ground) students live on campus. Students just enjoy living here. They enjoy being together and enjoy the convenience of it,” said Matt Hopkins, Director of Residence Life. “So the University has made a commitment to provide that. Our students have fallen in love with brand new buildings, which we have on a regular basis here.”

It continues the growth on that side of campus. Last year, the addition of Sonora, Antelope and Palo Verde apartments just west of 29^th Avenue added 1,800 beds to a booming on-campus population that had increased four-fold since 2012. And the Canyon Activity Center is right across the street.

A site plan shows the location of the new complex on the GCU campus.

The apartment-style units will be similar to others on campus — single bedrooms, two bathrooms and a shared kitchen — but the community areas should excite students. Since upperclassmen pick first for housing, it was designed with them especially in mind.

“We’ve all been there. You tend to grow up and you want to have very intentional spaces that cater to your needs,” said suoLL architect Caroline Lobo, who designed many of the campus projects built by Pono Construction.

She was part of a focus group with student leaders to find out what they wanted in new housing.

“The hangout patterns are very different than for freshmen,” she said. “You want your privacy but also a sense of camaraderie.”

The three residential units, named after area rivers (Salt, Verde and Agua Fria), will offer plenty of ways to mix with others, including an irregular-shaped swimming pool in a large plaza.

“All of these have their own vibe, catering to an independent lifestyle,” Lobo said.

Plans may evolve during construction, but one building’s flex space will include a large fitness facility with garage doors that open to the outdoors — a perfect location for fitness classes.

An artist’s rendering of what is expected to be a unique pool plaza.

“The weather is so nice between September and April that you can be outside and take advantage of it,” said Hopkins, who added that the pandemic was further motivation to provide more outdoor spaces for better air circulation.

Another building will have a large arcade area.

“The run-of-the-mill arcade is very different than how we look at this area,” Lobo said. “It will have limited gaming equipment, such as machines for instant gratification, but more pool tables, maybe a foosball table and a board game area.”

The third building will feature a GCBC, the student-run coffee shop, and new dining options yet to be determined. They also will have a different vibe, with indoor-outdoor service.

“When you look at new, up-and-coming restaurants and cafes, their service counters face the outside and there is seating outside,” Lobo said. “They have a diversity of users, with a band playing in one area, a lounging area or seating at the counter, if you can imagine all of that.”

The pandemic, she added, has showcased the advantage of the beautiful Phoenix campus that already utilizes prime outdoor spaces.

Building three residence halls at once gave the University the opportunity to execute an integrated development, said James Kossler, Vice President of Facilities Planning and Operations.

It also will increase the burgeoning campus to 27 housing units by next fall.

“It continues to develop the vision of our leaders to provide more people an opportunity for an affordable Christian education,” Kossler said. “It’s a nice University and we are drawing people from farther away, so we are taking steps to meet that demand.”

Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at mike.kilen@gcu.edu or at 602-639-6764.

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GCU Today: It’s all hands on deck to inspect residence halls

The post New housing complex to offer fresh (air) amenities appeared first on GCU Today.

Canyon 49 Grill has moved its burger stand at the Milwaukee Brewers spring training facility in Maryvale (seen here) to the north side of Antelope Gym, where foodies can fulfill their ballpark-food cravings.

By Lana Sweeten-Shults
GCU News Bureau

Pecan pie can take away your woes. No. More than that. It can be life-affirming, and dare it be said? Downright transformative.

Canyon 49 is serving an all-day menu for dine-in or take-out.

So pecan pie it is at Canyon 49 Grill at GCU Hotel, which is hitting home runs left and right lately as it not only ushers in the fall with an addition to the menu, Angie’s Pecan Pies, but has added culinary girth to the Grand Canyon University campus with the debut of Ball Park Burgers by Canyon 49. The baseball-inspired food stand, open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, has dug its heels into the north end of Antelope Gym.

It’s the latest spin-off for the University’s steadfast restaurant at the Canyon 49 complex on 27th Avenue, which is open and ready to serve the campus community after an unpredictable and unprecedented summer.

It’s a summer – and now fall — that has changed the dynamics for the restaurant as the hotel has closed temporarily and many employees are working from home.

It was in early March that Canyon 49’s burger stand was serving hungry baseball falls at American Family Fields of Phoenix, the Milwaukee Brewers’ spring training facility in Maryvale. Since 2017, the restaurant has been part of of the foodie experience at the Brewers games. If fans craved a burger, the GCU stand is the only place they can get it.

Brett Cortright, General Manager of GCU Hotel and Canyon 49 Grill, said one new addition at the restaurant is live music on Friday nights.

“They don’t do burgers at the (stadium) concession stand,” said Brett Cortright, General Manager of GCU Hotel and Canyon 49 Grill, who added that the Maryvale Stadium burger stand isn’t so much about churning out a substantial profit as it is about giving hospitality students the chance to operate that type of business.

Cortright got the call that the spring training season, which had just begun, was not to continue because of COVID-19 concerns and that the stand would have to close.

But a few weeks later, he heard that GCU President Brian Mueller was looking for more campus outdoor dining options.

“The stand was over at Maryvale Stadium; it’s ours,” Cortright said, and so Ball Park Burgers by Canyon 49 was born. “ … We’re doing our Ball Park BBQ Burger and Ball Park Turkey Burger and house-made chips for $10 and $11,” said Cortright.

Just call it a slice of the baseball foodie experience right here on campus.

It wasn’t just by happenstance that Canyon 49 Grill’s BBQ Burger got the spotlight at Maryvale Stadium.

“It’s our No. 1 seller at Canyon 49,” said Cortright of the establishment, where the campus community can find some upscale menu choices.

Canyon 49 Grill chefs Marcus Maggiore and Mike Willison keep it upscale, yet casual, too, at Canyon 49 Grill.

Executive Chef Marcus Maggiore and Sous Chef Mike Willison — Willison just filmed a cooking segment for Phoenix Food Day — have been known to put some broccolini and smoked jalapeno butter on the plate and aren’t averse to making their own pickles.

What’s special now at the grill is that it’s running an all-day menu from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

“It allows our students to enjoy anything at any time,” Cortright said. “They can come in at dinner and get a breakfast burrito. Or if they wanted to come over and have a steak at 10 in the morning, they can do that, too.”

They also might hear live music, another new feature. Every Friday, GCU finance/economics student T.J. Rifkin (he’s also a student worship pastor at Christ’s Church of the Valley) leads a group that performs at the grill.

“We had a really good response,” Cortright said.

Canyon 49 also is touting a new student general manager, Kelsey Schultz. She is only the second student general manager for the hotel and grill.

Students can catch the shuttle to Canyon 49, seen in this file photo from 2018, and use their dining dollars.

“This (the student general manager position) is a big deal for them,” said Cortright. “… She has come in with a ton of energy and a clear mission of what she wanted to accomplish. She said, ‘I came to GCU just for the hospitality program and just to run this hotel.’

“Kelsey separated herself from the rest. She took it upon herself to introduce herself to every student worker that we had. … Just as Karen (Madlock, the first student general manager) was nominated by her peers, Kelsey was also a shoo-in.”

As for the pecan pie?

“The holidays are going to be big for us,” Cortright said, and one reason is “the most amazing pecan pies in the world.”

They will be prepared at the Lope House at GCU Championship Golf Course and served at the restaurant throughout the holidays.

The pies are the creation of Angie Celis, a former pastry chef at resort hotel The Phoenician who’s now at GCU.

“Recently, the passion for baking has come back to her, and she asked if she could become involved in the culinary operation. She baked us a couple of these, and they were lights out.”

The BBQ Burger is Canyon 49’s best-seller at the 27th Avenue restaurant (and it’s available at the burger stand near Antelope Gym, too).

Cortright is hoping the campus will take advantage of that lights-out culinary experience, too, whether it’s grabbing a barbecue burger (at the restaurant or burger stand) or a piece of pecan pie or stopping by to listen to some music.

Social-distance measures are in place, as some tables have been removed to allow for more space between eating areas, and misters have been added on the patio for al fresco dining.

“Our kitchen staff and service staff are all using cleaning precautions and cleaning measures,” Cortright said.

The shuttle will take students, faculty and staff right to Canyon 49’s front door and back to campus. Another boon: Students get a 10% discount, and they can use their dining dollars for lunch and dinner, too.

For those who can’t stay to dine in, takeout is available (call 639-8502).

It’ll be lights out either way.

GCU senior writer Lana Sweeten-Shults can be reached at lana.sweeten-shults@gcu.edu or at 602-639-7901.

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GCU Today: New chefs reconnect at Canyon 49 Grill

GCU Today: It’s safety first as GCU Hotel, Canyon 49 reopen

The post Pecan pie, ballpark food: Lots to love from Canyon 49 appeared first on GCU Today.

GCU News Bureau

Arizona’s voter registration deadline for the Nov. 3 election has been extended to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23.

Tens of thousands of college students in Arizona have not yet registered to vote, according to nonpartisan nonprofit Public Citizen.

Students can check if they are already registered to vote, and that they’re voting at the same school or home location where they’re registered, by visiting the Arizona Voter Information Portal.

Students who are not registered can do so online. It takes an average of 2 minutes to register.

They then can decide whether to vote in person or by mail.

Early voting will be offered at least on weekdays from Wednesday through Oct. 30. Look up where to vote here. To vote by mail, request a ballot no later than Oct. 23. Mail or drop off the ballot at a designated drop-box location so it’s received by 7 p.m. on Election Day. It is recommended to drop off, rather than mail in, ballots if it’s 10 days or less before the election. Find drop-box locations by visiting the county recorder’s website.

Students voting in person on Nov. 3 can find their poll location here.

Another resource for college students is College.BeBallotReady.Vote (or check out this infographic), which answers student-specific questions, such as how voter registration might affect one’s residency status for college and financial aid. Other voters can head to BeBallotReady.Vote or TengaBoletaLista.Voto)

For more information, contact Melissa Davis, Youth Outreach Coordinator at mdavis@risc.maricopa.gov or 602-475- 1660.

The post Deadline to register to vote extended to Oct. 23 appeared first on GCU Today.

Even though she graduated last spring, Madeline Bradshaw already is an associate engineer for Aerojet Rocketdyne and has clients in NASA and the Department of Defense.

By Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau

Madeline Bradshaw

An internship in California the summer before Madeline Bradshaw’s final year at Grand Canyon University blossomed into a job offer before she even graduated last spring.

That’s not an infrequent occurrence for GCU students. But what makes Bradshaw’s leap extraordinary is she has turned her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree into an associate engineer job in which she does computer-aided design (CAD) for Aerojet Rocketdyne in Huntsville, Ala. — and has clients in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense.

The Honors College alumna knew she wanted to go into the aerospace industry, but her time in GCU’s engineering program showed her how much she enjoyed doing computer-aided design.

Bradshaw and the five F-1 engines that launched the Saturn V. The engines are housed at the Davidson Space and Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

“I do a lot of work with 3D modeling, creating 2D engineering drawings for manufacturing and helping standardize their design processes,” Bradshaw said of her new role.

It also was a leap of faith in another way: It meant living in the South, a region she never had visited while growing up in Olympia, Wash., and then coming to GCU. She was eager to get out of her comfort zone and experience a new part of the country, but the pandemic created another complication: She has had to learn her new job while working from home.

“It’s definitely crazy, but it’s been good,” she said. “It’s been interesting working from home. All of the work that we do is on the computer or over phone calls.”

Having the same professors for many of her GCU classes helped her feel comfortable creating new relationships with industry professionals.

“There are a handful of professors that just are really great people that taught me so much and were so helpful,” she said. “I know that in a bigger program I might not necessarily get that.”

Her experience as an Honors student also played an important role in her maturity.

Bradshaw with one of the F-1 engines in Los Angeles.

“I like to think of myself as a well-rounded person, so being in the Honors College, I had a couple extra credits that I had to take that I wouldn’t have had to take otherwise,” she said. “It gave me the opportunity to meet other people and be in different types of classes than just my typical engineering classes.”

That’s what she wants to pass on to current students: Having a well-rounded attitude and the desire to build professional relationships with others in the field are critical.

“The biggest thing I would tell them is to get to know their professors’ backgrounds specifically and know which professors have that industry knowledge and use that knowledge to your benefit,” she said. “Get close to those professors who could really give you that experience that you don’t get in a classroom.”

Contact Ashlee Larrison at (602) 639-8488 or ashlee.larrison@gcu.edu.

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GCU Today: Honors College community still connected … online

The post Engineering degree rocketed her into aerospace job appeared first on GCU Today.

Dr. Rachel Velarde

DR. RACHEL VELARDE

College of Fine Arts and Production

Title: Professor of Music

Years at GCU: 10 (2010-13, adjunct faculty; 2013-present, full-time faculty)

Academic degrees:

1994 — B.A. Music, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
1997 — Master of Music in Voice Performance and Master of Music in Voice Pedagogy, Arizona State University (when I did my program of study, if I completed one more theory class and one more recital, I had the credits for two degrees)
2013 — Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Pedagogy, Arizona State University

What is your most notable accomplishment in your field, and why was it important?

I am the Membership Director for the international Pan American Vocology Association (PAVA). I have served in many capacities within the professional organizations to which I belong. Service within the profession is extremely important, not just for furthering the organization, but in connecting, human to human, with others who are passionate about a common field of study.

In connecting with others, I have resources to answer questions, I further my knowledge and, most importantly, and it challenges me to think “outside the box” and expand my horizons. When I serve others, I am enriched in multiple ways.

What are you most passionate about in your field and why?

I truly believe that anyone can sing and that the act of singing is a fundamental human right. Perhaps not everyone is capable of a career in music, but all humans are designed by their Creator with the capacity for pitch, rhythm and movement through time, which are the core elements of singing.

We humans make music to express a variety of emotions, and singing is one of the primary ways in which we encounter music. When I can help someone access their joy and passion for music-making, help them remove unnecessary barriers to creating sound, then it is a very good day.

What is a memorable moment you had in class, and what does that reveal about your teaching style?

I love when students connect concept to application and have that “Aha!” moment. In MUS 455 — Voice Pedagogy, we read a large number of scientific articles. When a student can read an article and come away with one practical concept they can apply to their teaching, my day is made. First and foremost, I try to teach to inspire the love of learning, working to demystify jargon and make the search for knowledge not just accessible but desirable.

What do you like to do for fun in your spare time?

I’m a voice geek. I delve deeper into areas of learning and how I can apply that information to the field of voice. Throughout this summer, I delved into explorations of the Feldenkrais® Method, human anatomy and physiology (taking a 16-hour human dissection class!), motor learning theory, technology for online voice lessons, and psychoacoustics.

What is something interesting about you that most people don’t know?

My daughter has been onstage with me as a supernumerary (think “extra”) during two different productions at Arizona Opera (“Susannah” and “Daughter of the Regiment”). I’m very proud that she’s an incoming freshman at GCU this fall, majoring in Music Education-Choral — Voice.

The post Faculty Focus: Dr. Rachel Velarde appeared first on GCU Today.

Brian Kruckenberg of New City Church talks to Chapel on Monday about why believing in God takes the fear out of life.

Story by Rick Vacek
Photos by Garrett Ohrenberg
GCU News Bureau

Brian Kruckenberg’s Chapel talk on Monday at Grand Canyon University Arena can be summed up in two words:

Why worry?

But the Lead Pastor of New City Church in Phoenix had much more to say about why trusting God should make worrying obsolete. The secular world obsesses with methods, not principles, he noted, but faith is like an airplane – it’s built to withstand turbulence.

Kruckenberg is constantly asked by people to pray for them to overcome anxiety and depression, but those feelings can disappear if we trust in Jesus.

“We have to put our hope and our faith and our trust in Jesus,” he said. “That’s the biggest question you can answer of yourself: Is this really true? Is what this Scripture says about Jesus really true – is there really hope in Christ?”

Philippians 4:4-7 lays it out for us:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

But, Kruckenberg wondered, do we always live with that in mind? Do we truly trust?

“What is your big picture? What is your big principle?” he asked the audience. “Do you truly believe that this is true? Because that’s the most important question – because if this is true, you have all the reason in the world to be stable, to be secure, even in the midst of tremendous turbulence.

“If this is not true, if this is just sort of made up, well, then we live and we die and we conquer and the weak are eaten by the strong and it’s survival of the fittest and it’s get yours and take what you can and climb to the top – it’s all of these things.

“But if it’s true, then what it says is what we should live by.”

Kruckenberg summoned two other biblical passages to underscore his point:

James 5:7-9:

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

Philippians 3:20-21:

… Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.

He closed by telling two stories that demonstrate that our home is in heaven if we trust Jesus to show us the way there.

The first came when Kruckenberg was a new Christian and was asked by his pastor to visit and anoint with oil a sick child who was being airlifted to a hospital. Kruckenberg was surprised that he and his wife even were allowed to see the boy, considering how tight hospital security usually is, and the fact that the boy’s family hadn’t yet arrived made it more surreal.

“It’s almost like my wife and I were invisible,” Kruckenberg said.

So after a few awkward moments, they prayed over the boy, and Kruckenberg applied the oil. Just then, the parents walked in and the boy suddenly woke up and asked his father to tell him more of the story about Jesus.

A month later, Kruckenberg’s 50-year-old father was deathly ill with pancreatic cancer. Kruckenberg got some time alone with him, put his hand on his father’s feet and said, “Dad, you’re going to go be with Jesus right now.”

“He couldn’t talk, they had so much morphine in him, cancer had ravaged his body, and all I remember is that my dad just started shaking, as if to tell me, ‘I know, son. I know, son,’” Kruckenberg said. “My dad had the big picture in mind.”

That picture is framed in 1 Corinthians 15:16-20 and punctuated by what Kruckenberg likes to call “those big Bible buts:”

For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised, either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Kruckenberg left the hospital, and a few hours later he got the call – his father had passed away. But after he raced back to see his father’s body before it was taken away, it was as if his dad was no longer there.

Luke 24:5-6 said the same thing when Jesus was gone from the tomb:

In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?He is not here; He has risen!

“I hold onto that promise, not as a promise in vain, because I have the Scripture, the witness, the testimony, and I have the testimony of my own life,” Kruckenberg said.

“… This is not an empty promise. This is a principled promise. This is a true reality. The life to come is more real. It’s our real life. It’s more real than this life itself because Christ lived, Christ died and Christ rose again.”

● Chapel replay

● Next Monday’s speaker: Jodi Hickerson, Mission Church

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

****

GCU Today: God’s plan for you is for Him, Garcia tells Chapel

GCU Today: Chapel message: Nothing to fear, even this year

GCU Today: God’s love is where the action is, Mueller tells Chapel

GCU Today: Chapel talk urges us to not put God’s call on hold

The post Kruckenberg to Chapel: What are you worried about? appeared first on GCU Today.

By Kiesha Collins
GCU Office of Student Care
#Askingforafriend

Death and loss are a natural phenomenon in the cycle of life, and yet knowing this rarely makes the experience of losing a loved one painless. It creates a myriad of emotions in our hearts and minds, from shock to anger to sadness and more.

Because grief and loss are hardly discussed in our culture, many misconceptions are formed with how to “appropriately” grieve.

Let’s dispel several common myths about grief:

● Grief is universal, so the experience of grief is the same for everyone.
False. Everyone copes with losing a loved one differently, and so there is no right or wrong way to move through the grief process. Some individuals grieve through crying, some grieve through sharing memories of their loved one and some grieve through silent prayer. Mourning and grieving is an intensely personal process. It is important to experience and express our grief in a way that feels congruent for us.

● There is a time limit on grieving.
False. It takes time to process and adapt to a life without your loved one. For some individuals this may take months, while for others it may take years. Though research shows that the passage of time helps us move through our journey of grief, there is no predetermined set amount of time that dictates how long we “should” mourn.

● I can’t experience happiness while grieving.
False. Many people worry that if they find moments to laugh, smile or feel happy, they are not fully honoring their deceased loved one(s). However, this is simply not true. We are allowed to experience joy even in the face of pain. In fact, it is normal and common to feel a multitude of emotions that contradict one another. It is possible to simultaneously feel angry and relieved, happy and frustrated, or grateful and sad. The complexity of our emotions when losing a loved one is a part of the grieving process.

● The goal of grief is to move on with my life.
False. The goal of grief is to mourn and process the loss in a way that enables you to accept your loved one’s passing. This does not mean forgetting about this person or never hurting when thinking about them. As we cope with the loss, we learn how to create a new life while still being able to keep our loved one’s memory alive.

There are many ways to process grief after the passing of those we love. Remember, you are allowed to grieve and mourn loss in your own unique way.

The journey of grief is constantly changing, but if you notice that you are remaining stagnant or feeling stuck, it is OK to reach out for help during your time of need. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to help mourn the passing of a loved one.

The post #Askingforafriend: Myths about grief appeared first on GCU Today.

DR. TWYLA WILLIAMS-DAMOND

College of Doctoral Studies

Dr. Twyla Williams-Damond

“Push yourself: Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” — Neale Donald Walsch

Title: Doctoral faculty, residency faculty, dissertation chair, Institutional Review Board faculty lead

Years at GCU: 5+ years

Academic degrees:

Doctorate of Educational Foundations & Leadership/Higher Education Law, University of Louisiana at Lafayette & Southeastern Louisiana University
Master of Business Administration, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Master of Health Care Administration, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Bachelor of Applied & Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

What is your most notable accomplishment in your field, and why was it important?

From the K-12 viewpoint and upon review of the academic disparities experienced by underserved populations in southern Louisiana, I was able to utilize my research expertise to compile data outlining the compelling statistical gaps in academics related to these students. Before the publication of these findings, the educational gaps were not taken seriously and the cries for change were not given much merit. However, the undeniable statistical discovery expressed in my research led to the development of the Williams Scholar Charter Management Organization, which prides its foundation in restorative justice principles rather than punitive ones and which has its mission and vision founded upon cultural awareness and respect for diversity and inclusion. The changes sparked by this academic endeavor is especially important to me because it strategically benefits underserved students, who would have otherwise fallen through the cracks, and grants them the opportunity to matriculate more seamlessly into college.

From the higher education viewpoint, my most notable accomplishment is the graduation of my doctoral learners. Each time one of them graduates as a doctor, I get to graduate repeatedly and vicariously through them.

From a GCU professional viewpoint, my most notable accomplishment is being the recipient of the 2020 Leadership in Research and Scholarly Activity Award in Grand Canyon University’s College of Doctoral Studies. The coveted award is presented annually to one deserving GCU faculty member for outstanding leadership, innovation and service in the promotion of research and scholarly activity. Being nominated and chosen for this honor granted me further confidence that my work is both valuable and noteworthy.

What are you most passionate about in your field and why?

In my field, my passion is twofold.

One, I am passionate about collaborating with my highly respected colleagues and developing supports that will assist them with increasing student academic outcomes. In addition, having a voice concerning university initiatives gives me the opportunity to utilize both my business and academic backgrounds collaboratively. I call it an “Academic Business Plan,” which is a business plan with academic underpinnings.

Two, I am passionate about students — at all levels of education. In my opinion, there is nothing more satisfying than being instrumental in provoking changes that are student-centered. You often will hear me say, “At the end of every decision that we make in education, there is a student that will potentially influence the world. Our decisions go far beyond the classroom.”

What is a memorable moment you had in class, and what does that reveal about your teaching style?

In many cases, doctoral learners embark upon the dissertation journey with the idea that doctoral study is simply an extension of their previous education. Nothing could be further from the truth. This provides me with the opportunity to share the perspective that the dissertation journey is one that has its foundation in “creating new knowledge,” which is unique in comparison to any other learning process they have encountered to this point. Watching that shift in focus and witnessing the growth of the doctoral learner into a true researcher is addictive.

What motivations guide what you do?

Besides my spiritual guidance, my motivation comes from my parents, my husband and my children. As a first-generation family member with a doctorate, my original line of encouragement was received during my upbringing from parents who always enforced the importance of education. Although my father is an extremely successful entrepreneur, he was not afforded the opportunity to formally attend college. Therefore, higher education was considered a priceless commodity in our household. My mother, a lifelong educator in English and African-American history, taught me the art of meaningful debate and insisted on perfection when communicating with others. This combination of my parents’ influence persuaded me to eventually pursue a doctorate.

Daily, my husband and my children are my biggest motivation and support system. In an effort to conduct myself in a manner that is both honorable and productive, I am always mindful of wanting to make them proud. For this reason, I embark on every day with the intention of making my environment better than it was the day before.

What are other endeavors that support what you do?

At GCU, besides serving as a dissertation chair, I also serve as a doctoral residency professor, online doctoral instructor and most recently as the Institutional Review Board (IRB) faculty lead in the College of Doctoral Studies. All of these job responsibilities provide a platform for me to grow professionally and also enhance my expertise surrounding doctoral faculty and doctoral learners.

In addition, I spend quite a bit of time growing my personal business, Premier Educational Research & Consulting, as the Chief Executive Officer. The mission of this company is to provide professional educational advice for academic entities in order to create value for their constituents; deliver consultancies that enable entities to enter new markets, increase positive outcomes by evaluating specific departments and improve operational performance; and offer specialized knowledge pertaining to education, especially higher education. This firm was founded by chance and was not intentional. However, the outcomes have been beneficial for presidents, vice presidents, provosts, deans and directors from multiple universities and colleges across the U.S.

As I am a researcher at heart, I keep my research skills sharpened by having a research agenda that centers on the:

- Injustices experienced by students from impoverished backgrounds (minority and low socioeconomic)
- Inequities surrounding the accessibility of quality education
- Current K-12 issues
- Current issues in higher education
- Higher education legal topics

What are your plans to advance or grow the college of Doctoral Studies?

I plan to continue to build solid relationships with administration, faculty and staff in order to solidify myself as a knowledgeable resource. My personal demeanor is that of respect and openness to ideas and perspectives. This quality puts me in a unique position to navigate positive suggestions, potential concerns or needed changes in a manner that suits outcomes made in the best interest of the whole.

My other plans include contributing to the IRB by continuing to develop supports and trainings and being instrumental in improving processes between the IRB and the SDA leads, dissertation chairs and students.

In addition, I have a desire to be a contributing voice in furthering education on cultural sensitivity as well as diversity and inclusion topics that are so prevalent in today’s society. This subject matter effects all of our students and warrants reflective thought and development of a vision. Addressing these current issues in an effort to support our students and faculty is key.

What is something interesting about you that most people don’t know?

Most people do not know that I have eight children, that I love to ride motorcycles or that I routinely practice at the shooting range.

The post Faculty Focus: Dr. Twyla Williams-Damond appeared first on GCU Today.

Renee and Bob Parsons

(Oct. 7, 2020) – Grand Canyon University’s Students Inspiring Students (SIS) Scholarship Program has received a $500,000, five-year grant from The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation. The grant will fund full-tuition scholarships for “Parsons Scholars” – high school seniors who are the most academically qualified among SIS recipients. The largest single gift in the program’s history, the multiyear grant will provide life-changing opportunities for high-achieving youth who otherwise may not be able to afford a college education.

“Supporting higher education, and organizations like Grand Canyon University, is about more than funding a scholarship, it’s about investing in a person’s future,” said Bob Parsons, founder and CEO of PXG. “Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders, and I’m proud to support those who are willing to put in the hard work and earn a college degree.”

The SIS Scholarship Program is a public-private partnership in which a community-minded university, local businesses and donors, K-12 schools and a pay-it-forward scholarship program are greatly impacting education in GCU’s diverse inner-city community. Each year, the University awards full-tuition scholarships to high-achieving students from inner-city high schools who maintain a minimum 3.5 grade point average, demonstrate financial need and complete 100 or more hours of required tasks such as college-preparedness exercises and academic assistance in GCU’s innovative Learning Lounge. The Learning Lounge provides free one-on-one tutoring from GCU’s best and brightest students to any K-12 student who seeks assistance.

The surprised looks on the faces of recipients are the highlight when Students Inspiring Students scholarships are awarded.

“GCU’s SIS Scholarship Program is providing motivated students in underserved communities with the tools they need to not only pursue higher education, but excel,” said Renee Parsons, President and Executive Creative Director of PXG Apparel. “These programs are bringing hope and empowering students to follow their dreams.”

In the last six years, more than 4,500 students from 150 neighboring schools have taken advantage of this service, making nearly 60,000 visits to the Learning Lounge for 140,000 extra hours of study. In conjunction with that free tutoring program, GCU has awarded 361 four-year, full-tuition SIS scholarships to high school seniors who attend the Learning Lounge. Those SIS recipients, in turn, pay it forward while in college by providing 100 hours of tutoring to the next generation of K-12 students behind them – helping other students the same way in which they received help. More than 90% of the SIS recipients are students of color, which reflects the demographics of the communities surrounding GCU.

“We are extremely grateful to Bob and Renee Parsons for their generous gift and their recognition of the transformative impact this program is having,” GCU President Brian Mueller said. “First, the impact of the Learning Lounge program on K-12 schools in our neighborhood is incredibly significant. Second, that full-tuition scholarship allows high-achieving students an opportunity for a college education regardless of their socioeconomic status, changing the trajectory of their family for generations to come. And third, the recipient will also be impacting hundreds of future K-12 students while paying it forward as a college student and tutor in the Learning Lounge. The involvement of Bob and Renee Parsons allows us to get closer to our goal of having 800 students from our neighborhood involved in the SIS Scholarship Program every year.”

The initial cohort of Parsons Scholars will be selected by GCU’s SIS Scholarship Committee and announced in December 2020. The SIS Scholarship application deadline is Oct. 30.

****

About Grand Canyon University:
Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona’s premier private Christian university. GCU is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers more than 270 academic programs, emphases and certificates for both traditional undergraduate students and working professionals. The University’s curriculum emphasizes interaction with classmates, both in-person and online, and individual attention from instructors while fusing academic rigor with Christian values to help students find their purpose and become skilled, caring professionals. For more information, visit gcu.edu.

About The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation:
The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation offers support to nonprofit organizations successfully working to empower, educate, nurture and nourish people during what is often the darkest time of their lives. Founded in 2012 by philanthropists and business leaders Bob and Renee Parsons to provide hope and life-changing assistance to the country’s most vulnerable populations, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation offers critical funding at critical times to those in need. The Foundation’s giving is driven by the core belief that all people – regardless of race, religion, roots, economic status, sexual orientation or gender identity – deserve access to quality healthcare, education and a safe place to call home. Follow @WeDealInHope on social media or visit TBRPF.org, to learn more about partner organizations and the important work being done in the community.

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By Dr. Joshua M. Greever
Associate Professor of New Testament
College of Theology and Grand Canyon Theological Seminary

The GCU community is mourning the recent and tragic death of Jarod Lovekamp, a third-year senior at GCU. Even though I did not know Jarod personally, I have talked with many of my students who knew him, and they all unequivocally affirm the deeply positive impact Jarod had on their lives. So many of my students have testified that he was uplifting and encouraging to them, and, perhaps most importantly, he exuded the love of Christ to those around him. By all accounts, Jarod’s life was the life of a college student who was first and foremost a Christian who genuinely and firmly loved the Lord Jesus. Because of this testimony of others about Jarod’s life and faith, and because of the deep impact he had on the GCU community, in this letter I would like to address all those in the GCU community impacted by Jarod’s death. In an effort to encourage and console us, I want to remind us briefly of the hope we have in the gospel of Christ, which GCU wholeheartedly treasures and affirms.

The gospel, the good news of redemption as taught in the Bible and affirmed by the Christian worldview, is that despite humanity’s sin and rebellion against God our Creator, God in his love and mercy sent his Son to redeem us from our sins and to reconcile us to himself. No matter who we are or what any of us have done, we can be reconciled to God simply by repenting of our sins and trusting in God’s reconciling work for us in Christ. The Son of God, Jesus the Messiah, accomplished that reconciling work on our behalf: he lived a sinless and fully righteous life, died a substitutionary death on a cross, and was raised from the dead. For all who put their trust in him, his righteous life assures us of our righteousness before God. His substitutionary death took away our sin and guilt and established a new relationship with God based on the forgiveness of sins. And his resurrection guarantees eternal life as our final hope, which one day, when Jesus returns, will mean life in glorious, resurrected bodies in a new heaven and new earth.

This is the gospel that Jarod clung to and that Christians all over the world treasure and affirm. How does this gospel comfort and console us in our time of grief? Ultimately, this gospel assures us that sin and death do not have the final word. Although death is real and brings genuine sorrow, it has lost its sting for all who belong to Christ Jesus by faith. We grieve the absence of a true friend. We grieve the loss of the joy that Jarod brought into our lives. And yet, even in the midst of our pain and sorrow, we find genuine comfort and consolation because, for all like Jarod who belong to the Lord, death does not have the final word. We are sorrowful, yet we always rejoice. We are struck down, yet we are not destroyed. We grieve, but we grieve with hope. Indeed, our hope is not shaken in any way, for the glory of the gospel isn’t that it promises a life full of health and prosperity for 80 or 90 years. The glory of the gospel is that it promises abundant and eternal life with God, who is our unshakable and all-surpassing treasure and joy. And that kind of abundant and eternal life promised by the gospel will never come to an end; death cannot destroy or lessen it in any way.

And so as Christians, we continue to hope in the Lord, even in the midst of our genuine sorrow. We continue to pray for the return of King Jesus, and we pray in full assurance that one day, when Christ Jesus returns, the redemptive work that God has already begun in our hearts will be brought to completion. Our King will return and will finish making all things new. On that day he will turn our mourning into dancing, and he will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

And so, let’s commit as a Christian community to remember and treasure the gospel of the hope we have in Christ. Let’s commit to pray for one another and to console and comfort one another with these words. If any of you reading this letter has not repented of your sins and cast yourself on the redemptive mercy of God in Christ, I urge you to do that right now, and reach out to the Christian faculty, staff, and students all around you who can love you and point you in the right direction. I have been so encouraged to hear from my students of the ways in which they have comforted and encouraged one another during this difficult time. Let’s continue to do so by remembering the glorious gospel of our hope in Christ.

The post Open letter to GCU community regarding death of Jarod Lovekamp appeared first on GCU Today.

By Liz Cook
Registered Dietitian, Canyon Health and Wellness Clinic

While an extra hour of sleep each night might not be a realistic possibility, the way you choose to spend your waking hours can have a big impact on your energy levels.

The post-lunch slump is no joke, and there’s a reason 5-hour Energy calls it “that 2:30 feeling.” What we put into our bodies can make or break our energy levels, which in turn can make or break our days.

One of the most important things to include in your meals and snacks for high-energy days is protein. Protein gives us steady energy that carries us from a meal or snack through to the next one.

If you exercise, protein also helps your body recover, which means it can help with physical fatigue as well as well general sleepiness.

Including lean proteins such as eggs or yogurt with breakfast can kick your day off right.

Adding chicken, turkey, fish, tofu and beans to your lunch and dinner will help you feel full and energized after each meal.

Finally, snacking on a handful of nuts or a cheese stick can give you a little boost of protein between meals to keep you feeling good.

Fiber is another component of our food that keeps us feeling both full and energized. When we consume complex carbs, which are carbs that contain fiber, the sugars from those carbs are released into our bloodstream more slowly, which gives us sustained energy.

On the flip side, if we consume refined carbs, with little to no fiber, we get a surge of energy followed by a crash. Opting for whole wheat toast, whole grain oats, brown rice, quinoa and whole grain pasta can help provide our bodies with slow, sustained energy.

Consuming healthy fats, specifically those high in omega-3 fatty acids, also can help us feel our best throughout the day. Like protein and fiber, healthy fats are digested more slowly and give us energy that lasts from meal to meal.

Omega-3s also help reduce inflammation and fatigue, which leaves you feeling more energized and stronger every day. Nuts, nut butters, avocados, fish, olive oil and avocado oil can help you get your daily dose of fatty acids.

It’s not unusual to see B vitamins marketed as “energy vitamins,” and for good reason. B vitamins help our bodies convert our food into usable energy for our bodies.

You can get a health dose of B vitamins from whole grains, meat, fish, eggs, nuts and leafy greens. Iron also helps us feel alert and energized by delivering oxygen to our cells and allowing them to function optimally. Including lean meats, fish, beans, nuts and leafy greens in your diet helps ensures you are getting enough iron daily.

Your overall food intake is also something to be aware of if you have consistently low energy levels.

Energy is measured in calories, which means the calorie number you see on the labels of the food you eat quite literally tells you how much energy is in that food. If we constantly choose low calorie options, we are choosing low energy options. Make sure you’re eating enough energy each day to be able to do the things you need to do!

Hydration is also key to energy levels. One of the top symptoms of dehydration is fatigue. I highly recommend getting yourself a big, reusable water bottle and keeping it filled up on your desk all the time.

Additionally, set yourself a goal of how many bottles you would like to drink per day, then break it up and assign times to check-in. For example, one bottle before coffee in the morning, one bottle before lunch, one bottle by the end of the workday, etc.

With all of that said, it’s still crucial to maximize your sleep. Aiming for 7-9 hours each night will help improve energy levels and keep them high all day. Frequent meals and snacks with the discussed components above – such as lean protein, fiber and healthy fats – will keep you alert and ready to take on whatever the day brings!

The post Fitness Facts: Eating for energy appeared first on GCU Today.

GCU student Maddie Bucky meets a special friend in her outreach to people with disabilities.

By Mike Kilen
GCU News Bureau

It’s important to Emilee Beers that fellow students at Grand Canyon University know this: People with disabilities want to be treated like everyone else.

“I wanted to get involved while growing up with a disability – I have cerebral palsy – and I didn’t feel included in clubs or churches,” she said.

People didn’t know how to interact with her during high school in Orange County, Calif. “From my own experience, the biggest hurdles (others) jump over is seeing peers with a disability as a person, not their disability,” she said.

As president of the GCU student club Canyon Inclusive, she will be a part of the first Disability Awareness Week on campus Oct. 12-15. Each day on the Promenade outside the Student Union, groups and programs that promote inclusiveness of people with disabilities will share information, music and prizes.

Dr. Rebekah Dyer

The dedicated week has been a passion project for Dr. Rebekah Dyer, one that was postponed from last spring because of COVID-19. Her research has shown that 600 million people worldwide live with a disability, many which aren’t visible.

Teaching special education in her 20s, then as a children’s pastor and finally at GCU, where she teaches special education courses in the College of Education, she has seen the need to make the physical environment assessible to people with disabilities but also improve the general public’s engagement with an often overlooked population.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act was good,” she said of 1990 ADA, which guarantees equal opportunity in employment, public accommodations and other areas. “But another avenue we need to take is attitudinal. They have those rights through the law, but we need to change people’s attitudes toward it.”

At times she still hears, “Why do we have to do this just so they can participate?”

Dyers’ answer fits snugly into GCU’s faith environment.

“Inclusion of individuals with disabilities is an important part of representing the Christian faith. We are all God’s children, created in His image,” she explained in a video message to be played at Chapel on Monday, citing the passage from 1 Corinthians 12 that inspires it.

“The students, faculty and staff at GCU are part of the body of Christ, and it is important that we include all parts of the body in everything we do in order to honor Christ.”

A group will be represented each day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., starting Monday:

Best Buddies, a student club which creates friends between GCU students and adults with disabilities at the local organization ACCEL, a Valley nonprofit that serves people with developmental disabilities
Canyon Inclusive, a student club that provides opportunities for GCU to volunteer in campus ministry programs
ASD Connection, a GCU program that supports students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Unified, a ministry program on campus that serves individuals with disabilities

GCU student Emilee Beers

When meeting a person with a disability for the first time, Beers said, people often will direct questions to an assistant or teacher instead of talking directly to the person with a disability. But they are not “fragile and breakable” individuals. They are people like anyone else.

“When talking with GCU students some of them have never interacted with someone with a disability, so it’s just letting them know it’s OK to act with as much normalcy as possible,” she said. “We all want to be treated normal, if such a thing as normal exists.”

It means that it’s OK to ask them about their disability, too.

“A lot of times they are afraid to offend the person,” she said. “But anyone loves to talk about themselves. They will say, ‘I have Down Syndrome and I am proud!’”

Beers said her small club has seen some heartwarming moments unfold at churches, such as Christ’s Church of the Valley, when students interact with people with disabilities who quickly warm up to the moment.

“They become confident they are not alone and not segregated from typical students,” said the senior majoring in Elementary Education with an Emphasis on Special Education.

That transcends into the ministry. Some falsely conclude that those with developmental disabilities don’t understand.

“But working in these programs I have seen such a love for God, for people, I don’t think we give them enough credit in believing in religion,” she said. “I really think it’s important to let our special friends know that God loves you and created you and has a special plan for you. A lot of them feel hopeless, but we are here to welcome you home.”

The week’s events could go a long way toward helping understand a wide variety of disabilities, Dyer said. Autism takes many forms, for example, and the ASD Connection program shows students with autism how to navigate the social aspects of being on campus.

“I think this generation right now that is in college has a strong voice for inclusion of anyone,” she said. “They love to support any cause that’s about that.”

Maddie Bucky is one of those students. She didn’t come to it through personal experience. She was a three-sport high school athlete who simply was looking for another way to get involved and found a group that exposed her to people with disabilities.

“I saw those kids and their passion for life and how smart they are. I think they are overlooked in life and that shouldn’t be the case,” she said. “I want to show they are no any different than us, and we should include them.”

Maddie Bucky’s day was brightened by interacting with a boy with disabilities.

After transferring to GCU last year, the junior majoring in Special Education joined Best Buddies and became this year’s president of the club, which pairs GCU students with a person with disabilities at ACCEL.

“I got paired up with one of the best boys ever,” she said. “He opened my eyes.”

She saw a person who had challenges with everyday life and looked different.

“But it didn’t matter. He had a smile on his face every day. It opened my eyes,” she said of lamenting her own setbacks. “Even if I had a bad day, he lifted me. It made my Christian faith stronger.”

She said that God has a plan for everyone and to embrace it, just like this boy who eagerly welcomed his new friend.

“So I’m not going to sit around and pout,” she said. “I’m going to put a smile on my face. This is God’s plan.”

Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at mike.kilen@gcu.edu or at 602-639-6764.

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GCU Today: Students become eyes, ears for vulnerable adults

GCU Today: Blindness can’t slow down Honors College student

The post Disability Awareness Week to promote inclusiveness appeared first on GCU Today.

GCU News Bureau

Like most meetings these days, Money Week will be entirely online. But the financial literacy shared at the annual Grand Canyon University event figures to be every bit as personal as before.

From Monday, Oct. 12, through Friday, Oct. 16, GCU students, faculty and staff can Zoom in to hear industry experts share their knowledge. There is a limit of 1,000 viewers per session; click here for the link.

Here’s the schedule, which includes links to sign up. All sessions are 20 minutes except where noted:

MONDAY, OCT. 12

9 a.m. – “The Importance of Insurance” (Brian Martinka, WestPac Wealth Partners)

11 a.m. – “Retirement Planning” (Kate Somerville, Edward Jones)

1 p.m. – “Personal Budgeting” (Scott McLaine)

3 p.m. – “How to Choose an Employer” (Mark Gonzalez, Vanguard)

5 p.m. – Keynote speaker (40 minutes): “Money, the Bible and Living the Life of Your Dreams” (Nate Jensen, Christ’s Church of the Valley)

TUESDAY, OCT. 13

9 a.m. – “The Basics of Personal Finance” (Creighton Hardy, Northwestern Mutual)

11 a.m. – “Types of Retirement Plans” (Angelica Prescod, Edward Jones)

1 p.m. – “Emergency Savings” (Robert Istrate, Quicken Loans)

3 p.m. – “Bible and Finance” (JW Rayhons)

5 p.m. – Keynote speaker (40 minutes): “The Three Essential Money Moves for College Students” (Robert Vera, GCU)

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 14

9 a.m. – “Advice at Vanguard” (Mark Gonzalez, Vanguard)

11 a.m. – “Emergency Savings” (Robert Istrate, Quicken Loans)

1 p.m. – “Retirement Planning” (Todd Romer, Young Money)

3 p.m. – “Buying Your First Home” (Colbert Chang, wealth management advisor)

5 p.m. – Panel (40 minutes): “Spotlight on Financial Services” (Leslie Y. Tabor, Charles Schwab; Wayne Burnett, Merrill Lynch; Mark Gonzalez, Vanguard)

THURSDAY, OCT. 15

9 a.m. – “What is a 401(k)?” (Shannon Friedrich, Northwestern Mutual)

11 a.m. – “Importance of Insurance” (Brian Snow, USI Insurance Services)

1 p.m. – “Retirement Planning” (Isabelle Clausen, Desert Wealth Management)

3 p.m. – “Biblical Views on Money” (Isabelle Clausen, Desert Wealth Management)

5 p.m. – Panel (40 minutes): “Grow and Save Your Money for an Amazing Future” (Tim Eichenberg, New Mexico State Treasurer; Anna Murphy, CFA Senior Portfolio Manager; DeAnza Valencia, JD Advocacy Director)

FRIDAY, OCT. 16

9 a.m. – “Personal Budgeting” (Amy Shepard, Sensible Money LLC)

11 a.m. – “How to Choose an Employer” (Mark Gonzalez, Vanguard)

The post Money Week goes online to offer financial advice appeared first on GCU Today.

The Production of “The Comedy of Errors” brought in viewers to see the play in person and on YouTube.

By Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau

A lot of time, energy and care went into the creation of the outdoor stage in front of the College of Fine Arts and Production Building. The response proved that the effort was worth it.

Technical Director Brad Cozby said the five performances of Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors” last week averaged 360 viewers between the in-person and online audiences. By comparison, the capacity of Ethington Theatre — where stage productions take place in normal, pandemic-less times — is 311.

The stage, which took several weeks to complete, provided socially distanced seating for 49 people and was sold out every night. COFAP Assistant Dean William Symington said the outdoor atmosphere worked out exactly the way he had hoped.

The outdoor stage attracted viewers from all over campus.

“I think people were hungry for things to do. There was a really good energy to having it outdoors,” he said, adding that people walking by would stop and watch, sometimes even throwing down a picnic blanket.

“Maybe it drew in people who might normally not go to a theatre show,” he said. “Having it outside just made it that much more accessible. A lot of audience members commented on how fun it was.”

There were some obstacles in the outdoor performances, such as having to move equipment more frequently to keep it protected from weather, but Symington said that the most challenging part is over. Since the stage is already assembled, he believes that preparing it for future productions should be easier.

The livestream of the production pulled in over 1,500 viewers.

In addition to selling out the in-person seats, the live recording of the production has pulled in more that 1,500 views on YouTube. Making the show available online brought in audiences from a surprising number of locations.

“We had people watching all across the country and as far away as Mexico,” Symington said. “We’re thrilled. It was so much work, it was so hard battling the heat because it’s so hard to build anything outside.

“The students and student workers really stepped up, our staff, Brad and Patrick (MacDonald) and everyone really worked so hard, and their dedication is the only reason that we pulled this off. We’re incredibly proud of them.”

Symington also praised the video team that helped make the livestream possible. The response was so positive, Symington hopes to continue livestreaming Ethington plays post-COVID and also would like to have some plays be performed outside when the weather is nice.

As for future innovations, Cozby and Symington said that they plan to continue working on the deck of the stage to make it waterproof and also want to add more lights.

Contact Ashlee Larrison at (602) 639-8488 or ashlee.larrison@gcu.edu.

****

GCU Today: Outdoor theatre completed for Ethington season

The post Audiences give outdoor stage positive reviews appeared first on GCU Today.

Story by Lana Sweeten-Shults
Photos by Elizabeth Tinajero
GCU News Bureau

“Wait! Let me see if I’m saying ‘eggplant’ right,” Brianna Castro declared as she shuffled off The Bean Counter Kitchen set at Grand Canyon University’s 27^th Avenue complex.

Canyon 49 Grill Sous Chef Mike Willison and Brianna Castro, a learning advocate in the Learning Lounge, collaborated for a virtual cooking demonstration that will be part of Phoenix Food Day.

After a quick glance at her cellphone to look up the Spanish translation, “berenjena,” she was back on set and ready to go.

Castro, an English for Secondary Education junior, spends much of her time at GCU as a learning advocate, or LEAD, in the Learning Lounge. It’s where college scholars, many of them recipients of the Students Inspiring Students scholarship (including Castro), tutor K-12 students from the surrounding neighborhood.

But at a recent video shoot, she was all about using her teaching and translating skills to help Phoenix Food Day and Healthfest, a community-building fall festival of healthy eating that is serving up its community atmosphere in a different way this year because of COVID-19.

The event, now a drive-thru experience peppered with virtual cooking demonstrations and goody-bag giveaways, will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Cartwright Community Garden, 4208 N. 51^st Ave.

Castro stood alongside Canyon 49 Grill Sous Chef Mike Willison, who generously dolloped refried beans, enchilada sauce, cumin and more on strips of eggplant to create his bean and cheese eggplant enchiladas.

Castro translated chef commentary from English into Spanish.

While he cooked, Castro translated his commentary into Spanish to reach the event’s Spanish speakers.

It will be one of several cooking segments to be posted on the Phoenix Food Day website (see the flyer here) as part of the event’s virtual offerings. Also, families who have preregistered can drive through to pick up food boxes and goody bags filled with recipes, gardening kits, gift cards, and health and wellness vouchers.

Canyon 49 Grill will supply a coupon in the goody bag, and the Learning Lounge will include a flyer to let the neighborhood know about the academic support it provides to K-12 students.

This will be the third year the University has participated in the city of Phoenix’s Phoenix Food Day and Junior League of Phoenix’s Healthfest. The festival is designed to inspire people to change the way they look at food.

“It all started with Gus the Garden Bus,” Community Relations Manager Debbie Accomazzo said of how GCU became involved in the event.

It was in 2018 when firefighters responded to a fire at an empty lot that had engulfed a Cartwright Elementary School District mobile garden called Gus the Garden Bus. The bus was where students learned about plant sciences and healthy eating.

Chef Mike’s dish: bean and cheese eggplant enchiladas.

Instead of letting that vision fade away, since the school didn’t have the funding to replace the bus, Phoenix Fire Captain and GCU alumnus Austin Moreland rallied his firefighters, the police, the city, the school district – and his alma mater – to help. The result: a new garden bus, raised garden beds and the arrival of Phoenix Food Day to the Cartwright Community Garden, which is where the event has inspired healthy eating for the past three years.

Accomazzo said Phoenix Food Day goes hand-in-hand with recent University efforts such as Canyon Urban Farms, where fresh produce is grown and shared with the community.

Canyon Urban Farms Manager Nathan Cooper checks the harvest on the land just north of Agave Apartments.

“We’ve got Canyon Urban Farms here, so the idea of healthy eating, farm-to-table, buying local, all of that dovetails really well with what we’re doing here relative to our enterprises,” Accomazzo said.

Castro dovetailed well, too, with the enterprise of filming cooking segments, since she once thought about standing in front of a camera as a news broadcaster. The Washington High School graduate couldn’t have imagined her job at the Learning Lounge tutoring students also would include a stint in front of the camera, this time teaching healthy eating.

“That’s why I LOVE my job at the Lounge, because this falls completely into what I want to do,” said Castro, who will combine her love of communication with helping children as a future high school English teacher.

Accomazzo said Castro shared at planning meetings how the price of food is important to her family in deciding what meals end up on the table. She also spoke about how a lot of families don’t use the sophisticated kitchen tools that chefs might use in their own kitchens.

Accomazzo found Castro’s words insightful.

“She is the target family,” Accomazzo said and added how having Castro translate the cooking segments into Spanish was invaluable in helping GCU and Phoenix Food Day reach those target families.

“We exist in the Canyon Corridor in a community that is very diverse. We have to be a part of the fabric of that community, so if we’re going to put something out into the community, we need to make sure the community will receive it. Having Brianna be a part of it, it will be received.”

Castro not only translated commentary into Spanish but helped Executive Chef Chris Lenza add ingredients to his cauliflower rice dish.

Besides working with Willison, Castro translated the commentary of Chris Lenza, most recently the Executive Chef at Café Allegro at the Musical Instrument Museum. For his cooking segment, Lenza prepared a cauliflower rice dish with hominy, cilantro and bell peppers.

“I’ve always been into healthy eating … but also focusing on local ingredients and feeding our community and our youth,” Lenza said.

He often does cooking demonstrations for K-12 youth and advocates making your own dishes – buying your own dry beans, cooking them, seasoning them — rather than buying them already processed in a can. The buy-fresh approach allows you to control sodium levels, fat levels and more.

Phoenix Food Day Planning Committee member Dr. Paris Masek, President of Green on Purpose and a founding member of the Maricopa County Food System Coalition, has overseen the food demonstrations for Phoenix Food Day for several years.

“I’m a huge proponent of eating local, eating fresh, eating nutritious foods,” Masek said.

The former fish biologist connects local farmers, who were throwing away unused product, to local restaurateurs, who could use those freshly grown vegetables but wouldn’t have time to make it to a multitude of local farms every day.

Masek’s knowledge of local food systems is why city of Phoenix Environmental Programs Coordinator Rosanne Albright asked him to be part of the event.

He said Americans have gotten used to buying from supermarkets that don’t always carry local or fresh produce. The USDA considers local as something sourced from within a radius of 350 miles. So by the time a banana makes it to the supermarket, it could be a week or two old already.

“The system is so ingrained to … if I need bananas, I can go get them 12 months out of the year. So since World War II, we have moved away from seasonal eating and local food because we’re so used to the convenience of running down to the grocery store for whatever you need whatever time of year,” he said. “A lot of those ideas and practices (about buying local and seasonal) are in line with what Phoenix Food Day talks about.”

He added how medical issues, such as diabetes and obesity, can be tied to how we eat.

His advice: Grow your own garden. Head to the farmers’ market.

“Why does it take a pandemic to initiate the process?”

Canyon 49 Grill’s Willison, in choosing his dish, bean and cheese eggplant enchiladas, said he wanted to use what he could find in the garden and make something he thought the community would like.

The team ended the video with the traditional Phoenix Food Day apple crunch.

“When people see healthy food, they think it has to be more difficult than it is,” he said, adding, “Keep it simple.”

Castro also helped Willison and Lenza with an important tribute to Phoenix Food Day: the apple crunch. It’s when everyone at the festival simultaneously crunches into an apple.

The apple crunch made its way into the virtual cooking demonstration, too.

It’s the symbolic sound of fresh food that’s at the core of Phoenix Food Day.

It’s an apple for the future teacher — and for these culinary teachers — who all have a love for community.

GCU senior writer Lana Sweeten-Shults can be reached at lana.sweeten-shults@gcu.edu or at 602-639-7901.

***

IF YOU GO

What: City of Phoenix’s Phoenix Food Day and Junior League of Phoenix Healthfest

Where: Cartwright Community Garden, 4208 N. 51^st Ave.

When: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday

Admission: Free, though preregistration is required for the drive-thru event

Information: https://www.phoenix.gov/oep/foodday

***

GCU Today: Hope is planted in a Maryvale Community Garden

The post GCU cooks up virtual demo for Phoenix Food Day appeared first on GCU Today.

LACEY COX

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Lacey Cox

Title: Adjunct faculty

Years at GCU: 8

Academic degrees:

Master of Social Work, Arizona State University
Bachelor of Social Work, Arizona State University

What is your most notable accomplishment in your field, and why was it important?

As the Counseling Administrator at the Gilbert Police Department, I was asked to head a fundraiser to raise funds for a bronze statue to honor the first officer that our department lost in the line of duty. It was a difficult time for the department and the community, and I was honored to help. We were able to raise $200,000 in a short period of time, and the statue of a police officer, firefighter and child stands in front of the Gilbert Public Safety Complex today.

What are you most passionate about in your field and why?

There are many things that I am passionate about after 39 years as a social worker. I think that what I talk about the most is being open and willing to completely understand another person’s experience. We cannot allow our beliefs and values to prevent us from seeing the special person that we are trying to help and all they have to offer.

What is a memorable moment you had in class, and what does that reveal about your teaching style?

I have had many memorable moments, but what I enjoy the most is when I learn from my students. I love to see them get excited about new information, but when we all learn it is amazing.

What do you like to do for fun in your spare time?

I enjoy spending time with family the most. I have five precious grandchildren, and they are the light of my life. I also love the mountains and the ocean, so vacations always include one, the other or both.

What is something interesting about you that most people do not know?

When I was growing up, I always wanted to be a veterinarian and even started college at Cornell University in the pre-vet program. Life threw me a curve and I ended up becoming a social worker, which has been a wonderful profession for me. But I still love animals and currently have three dogs. I always must have at least one dog in my life!

The post Faculty Focus: Lacey Cox appeared first on GCU Today.

By Rick Vacek
GCU News Bureau

Not long ago, they were Grand Canyon University students learning more about financial literacy during Money Week.

Now, as GCU alumni, they are working in the financial services industry and passing on their expertise … at Money Week.

Mark Jacobson

And they’re still learning from the GCU instructors who helped set them on their way.

Colangelo College of Business alums Isabelle Clausen, Creighton Hardy, Robert Istrate and Kate Somerville are joining a star-studded lineup of speakers for Money Week: Financial Wellness 2020, which began Monday morning, continues through Friday, is entirely online and is available to all students, faculty and staff.

Contributions from current students are equally important. Members of the Finance and Economics Club, led by President Adrianna Romero and Vice President Julia Kiefer, helped CCOB Finance Chair and club advisor Mark Jacobson set up the sessions and will introduce speakers and manage the questions in the chat room.

Here’s one example of how they helped: Romero is from New Mexico and recruited one of the speakers, New Mexico State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg, for the Thursday panel discussion, “Grow and Save Your Money for an Amazing Future.”

It’s another case of GCU instructors making the best of the pandemic situation by putting it on Zoom, which means it is accessible to more people (up to 1,000 per session). Not only are the presenters sharing their knowledge, many of them are also hiring and are participating in the career fair tied to the event.

On top of that, all of the sessions will be made available for anyone who might have missed a topic they want to know more about. Each session (see schedule below) can be accessed by clicking here.

Creighton Hardy

“I am very proud of what Mark Jacobson and his team of students have pulled together in a short time since the students returned to campus,” CCOB Dean Dr. Randy Gibb said. “Financial literacy is so vital for our society — COVID is highlighting the need for sound financial planning and preparation. We have organized the speakers, topics and the Zoom links; now GCU students just need to leverage the opportunity!”

Jacobson’s style is typical of GCU instructors: He often meets one-on-one with both students and former students, hoping to either set them on the right path or monitor how they’re doing. Bringing back four alumni to speak at Money Week is a direct result of maintaining relationships he nurtured in regular meetings with them.

“I’ve never met a professor so dedicated to the business development of the school and the advancement of the school,” said Hardy, Wealth Management Financial Advisor for Northwestern Mutual and presenter on “The Basics of Personal Finance” at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

“It’s really exciting to hear all the progress reports and everything else they’re doing, how they’re doing their best to give GCU students a leg up. It makes me really proud to be an alumni and to be involved.”

Hardy was a double major at GCU – Psychology and Business Management – and started his internship with Northwestern Mutual before graduating in 2017.

“Some people ask me, ‘Oh, you’ve got a psychology degree and you’re an advisor,’” he said. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, and I use it every day! Because money is emotional, dang it!”

Robert Istrate

Istrate, who graduated in December 2016 and just celebrated his three-year anniversary as Executive Mortgage Banker at Quicken Loans, remembered the time Jacobson told him, “Hey, maybe you should check out financial sales.”

“I didn’t even know what that meant at the time, to be honest,” Istrate said. “Starting off, I was reminded of that. Maybe he could see something that I didn’t. He was pivotal in the planning of my development and how I wound up here.”

Now Istrate talks with the assuredness of a professional who knows his craft. He’s eager to get students thinking about the future in his “Emergency Savings” sessions at 1 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. But he’s also eager just to help his alma mater.

“I love GCU, I love the campus and the school, and I want to give back any way I can,” he said. “It’s a big blessing, so I’m thankful for it.”

Clausen, who graduated just last April, will do two sessions: “Retirement Planning” at 1 p.m. Thursday and “Biblical Views on Money” at 3 p.m. the same day.

Isabelle Clausen

“I was so excited to do both,” she said. “For Christian young adults, the whole point of money in relation to Christianity is God wants us to be good stewards of our responsibilities, and one of the biggest responsibilities, especially for business students, is money.”

Ever since she was 15, Clausen wanted to work in her father’s firm, Desert Wealth Management in Fountain Hills, as a financial advisor. Now she’s doing exactly that for Robert Clausen.

“He’s actually one of my best friends – I love him to death whether he’s my father or another professional,” she said. “The fact that he and I get to work together is, honestly, a dream come true.”

Family ties also are why Somerville is working in Gilbert as a financial advisor for Edward Jones. She grew up in Minot, N.D., but when the family started vacationing regularly in Arizona, it wasn’t long before she preferred desert heat over North Dakota winters.

The 2019 graduate in Finance and Economics, the 11 a.m. Monday speaker on “Retirement Planning,” still can’t quite believe that it has been a year and a half since her commencement.

Kate Somerville

“It feels like it happened so fast, it’s a blur,” she said. “I love my job. We’re in a completely different environment (because of COVID) – wasn’t expecting that, but it’s a lot of dedication and commitment to the career. I think if you’re passionate about it, you’ll persevere and make it through.”

Perseverance also was central to the 2020 version of Money Week. Jacobson admitted that its prospects didn’t look too promising last March, but he and the students have pulled it off.

“Overall, I’m pleased, given COVID and everything,” he said. “When we started talking about this, we wondered how it’s going to work.”

It works, first and foremost, because of relationships. Like money, they’re all about investing.

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

****

Money Week schedule

All sessions 20 minutes except where noted

MONDAY, OCT. 12

9 a.m. – “The Importance of Insurance” (Brian Martinka, WestPac Wealth Partners)

11 a.m. – “Retirement Planning” (Kate Somerville, Edward Jones)

1 p.m. – “Personal Budgeting” (Scott McLaine)

3 p.m. – “How to Choose an Employer” (Mark Gonzalez, Vanguard)

5 p.m. – Keynote speaker (40 minutes): “Money, the Bible and Living the Life of Your Dreams” (Nate Jensen, Christ’s Church of the Valley)

TUESDAY, OCT. 13

9 a.m. – “The Basics of Personal Finance” (Creighton Hardy, Northwestern Mutual)

11 a.m. – “Types of Retirement Plans” (Angelica Prescod, Edward Jones)

1 p.m. – “Emergency Savings” (Robert Istrate, Quicken Loans)

3 p.m. – “Bible and Finance” (JW Rayhons)

5 p.m. – Keynote speaker (40 minutes): “The Three Essential Money Moves for College Students” (Robert Vera, GCU)

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 14

9 a.m. – “Advice at Vanguard” (Mark Gonzalez, Vanguard)

11 a.m. – “Emergency Savings” (Robert Istrate, Quicken Loans)

1 p.m. – “Retirement Planning” (Todd Romer, Young Money)

3 p.m. – “Buying Your First Home” (Colbert Chang, wealth management advisor)

5 p.m. – Panel (40 minutes): “Spotlight on Financial Services” (Leslie Y. Tabor, Charles Schwab; Wayne Burnett, Merrill Lynch; Mark Gonzalez, Vanguard)

THURSDAY, OCT. 15

9 a.m. – “What is a 401(k)?” (Shannon Friedrich, Northwestern Mutual)

11 a.m. – “Importance of Insurance” (Brian Snow, USI Insurance Services)

1 p.m. – “Retirement Planning” (Isabelle Clausen, Desert Wealth Management)

3 p.m. – “Biblical Views on Money” (Isabelle Clausen, Desert Wealth Management)

FRIDAY, OCT. 16

9 a.m. – “Personal Budgeting” (Amy Shepard, Sensible Money LLC)

11 a.m. – “How to Choose an Employer” (Mark Gonzalez, Vanguard)

****

GCU Today: CCOB job fair on the money in Money Week

GCU Today: Money Week compounds student interest in finances

The post Recent alumni are happy to invest in Money Week appeared first on GCU Today.

Jodi Hickerson speaks to Chapel on Monday at GCU Arena.

Story by Rick Vacek
Photos by Garrett Ohrenberg
GCU News Bureau

“You failed.”

“You’re not good enough.”

“What you did is unforgivable.”

Ever hear those words? Pretty devastating, right? Especially if you’re saying them to yourself.

Hickerson said that Jesus’ forgiveness of Peter is a sign of how He will treat us if we come running to Him.

After Jodi Hickerson of Mission Church in Ventura, Calif., ran through a litany of shortcomings and sins, big and small, at the start of her Chapel talk Monday, she asked for a show of hands: Who can identify with one of those mistakes?

Not surprisingly, every hand shot up in Grand Canyon University Arena.

“What a bunch of losers,” she joked.

She already had made her point.

“Anyone else need a little redemption from failure?” she asked. “Because we all do, right?”

And then Hickerson showed what that redemption looks like as she preached at her “favorite place ever to teach” – her daughter is a GCU student.

“We’ve all messed up. We’ve all fallen short. We’ve all been in somewhat of the same boat. We’ve experienced a degree of failure,” she said. “And some we can look back on and laugh – we can talk about those kinds of failures and laugh them off.

“Others just keep messing with us. They keep us up. They rob us of our peace. They kind of steal our confidence and our joy, and we think that maybe this is the new way it is because we don’t know if there’s a way to recover from the way we failed.”

As usual, the Bible shows the way to recover. Hickerson told, in exacting detail and with her distinctive, down-to-earth speaking style, the story of Peter, the “rock” upon whom Jesus built His church.

“Long before Dwayne Johnson,” she said, referring to the hulky actor known as “The Rock.”

Peter messed up. Oh, did he ever. He denied even knowing Jesus three times as Christ was being sentenced to death. Jesus had predicted it just hours earlier in Mark 14:27-31:

“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’
But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today — yes, tonight —before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown Me three times.”

But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You.” And all the others said the same.

Isabella Rea performs with the Worship team.

Later in that chapter, in verses 70-72, it proves true. Peter already had twice denied knowing Jesus; the third time, he got nasty about it:

After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”

He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”

Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown Me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

Hickerson said she has studied this thoroughly and noted that the gospel of Mark is a first-person account directly from Peter.

“He was saying things about Jesus, cursing Jesus, in a way that nobody would think that he could be one of His followers because one of His followers would never talk about Jesus that way,” she said.

She switched the scene to the Sea of Tiberias, where Peter and his fellow fishermen again were plying their trade after Jesus had been crucified, and they believed their time with Him was over.

“The boat itself is stable, but Peter is sinking. He’s drowning in a sea of regret,” she said. “He’s replaying what he did, what he said over and over, like we do sometimes, like, ‘How could I do that?’”

Then she put it in terms that the students in attendance could understand:

“He just feels so ashamed and so worthless and so embarrassed. If he could only do it over …” she said, her voice almost cracking with emotion. “You ever been there? You ever wonder if there’s a way to resurface, if there’s a way to rise above it, to rise above our remorse, our guilt, our shame? You ever wonder if there’s any hope?

“And the answer is, yes. It’s what I came to tell you this morning, because we have a God who specializes in flipping the scripts from failure to redemption. We have a God who, get this, can take the messiest waste of our life – right, all that – and turn it into the most fertile soil, to grow something brand new and something beautiful, and this was the experience of Peter.”

Hickerson listed three takeaways from this story:

First, Peter was wrecked by failure … and he owned it.

“Shame has a powerful enemy, and that is the grace of God,” Hickerson said.

“The once proud rock was, like, reduced to rubble,” she said. “And I love that about Peter, that he just took ownership, he was truly repentant, he went out, he wept bitterly.

“You ever been not broken over your sin, over your stuff, over your failures, your rebellion from running from God? Not just upset like that you got caught – I’ve been there. Not just mad that you’ve got to deal with the consequences. But genuinely humbled and remorseful before God.”

James 4:10 tells us what will happen if we show that remorse:

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.

“We have a God that doesn’t want us to stay down when we fall down,” Hickerson said.

The second takeaway is that Peter was wrecked by humiliation … but stayed in the group.

“It is so important for us to surround ourselves with people who will help us get back up, who know what it’s like to have fallen, and we help them get back up,” she said. “… Don’t ever let failure isolate you.”

Ecclesiastes 4:10 reads:

If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.

Hickerson then recounted, in grand detail, the story in John 21:7-12, of how Peter and the group spotted Jesus on the shore, and Peter inexplicably leaped out of the boat and started swimming even though the boat probably would have gotten there faster.

That illuminated her third takeaway: Peter was wrecked by shame … but still swam to Jesus. And then Jesus, three times again, asked Peter if he loved Him.

“Shame has a powerful enemy, and that is the grace of God,” Hickerson said. “… Shame is the language of our accuser, but grace is the language of Jesus, so, please, swim to Him, run to Him, get to Him with whatever you’ve got, and He’s going to take you just as He finds you. He’s going to begin to change your life.”

Hickerson closed with something she wrote in her early 20s, about how she wanted to be “in” but “felt aggravated, frustrated, unappreciated, slated as someone who was underrated, unimportant, unknown, unseen, average, mediocre, routine, beneath, below, beyond a chance, inconsequential, insignificant.”

But the Bible is filled with the stories of people Jesus rescued from their wayward ways.

“Suddenly, undeniably, they were in,” Hickerson said.

And that’s exactly what happened to her:

“Since the day I met with Him, He took all that I had been, all my fear, my shame, my sin, and changed my life by letting me in. By the grace of God I did it, and by the grace of God, you can get in, too.”

● Chapel replay.

● Next Monday’s speaker: Sean Moore, Faith Christian Center

****

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The post Chapel story about Peter is meant to rock your boat appeared first on GCU Today.