One of the 140 doctoral graduates receives her stole at commencement Friday evening.

Story by Rick Vacek
Photos by David Kadlubowski
GCU News Bureau

Dr. Michael Hayes was in the U.S. Army for 30 years. He knows a thing or two about discipline and protocol and getting the job done right.

So when he came across a Grand Canyon University table at a conference in his hometown – El Paso, Texas – and was intrigued by the idea of getting his doctorate, he sought information. He met with Dr. Michael Berger, Dean of the College of Doctoral Studies. He thoroughly checked out the campus and the program.

Considering how much work goes into a dissertation, doctoral graduates have every right to let out a scream of joy.

Fully convinced it contained the quality he was seeking, he plunged into the academic version of high-level boot camp. Friday night, his tour of dissertation duty ended when he was one of 140 doctoral graduates – the largest class in GCU history – at spring commencement.

Afterward, Hayes felt indebted to the GCU committee that worked with him. Like the military, it was challenging.

“They helped me understand a lot of the curriculum material a little bit better,” he said. “It was difficult – I’m not going to lie. Writing a dissertation is a very difficult process, especially for a soldier. I was in the military for 30 years and never did anything like that.

“They were tough, they were demanding but they were very fair. I praise God for it. I praise God for this institution. It was a great experience.”

Hayes’ experience is indicative of how GCU’s doctoral program quickly has become a game-changer. Just 17 months ago, the University celebrated its 500th dissertation. This spring’s count sent the total hurtling closer to 1,000, a threshold Berger expects to reach this year.

“I do feel like the University’s program is really starting to pick up a reputation,” Berger said.

He hears that from faculty, some of whom work at more than one college.

“One of them said that we’re getting a very interesting reputation – it’s an online program but one that pushes students as much as a trad program,” he said. “The comment was, ‘We don’t like what GCU is doing because we’re really having to up our game quality-wise with our students and do a whole bunch of additional oversight.’

“The extra work we’re doing to get strong dissertations is having a strong brand impact. It’s drawing attention.”

The numbers don’t lie. Berger created an award for dissertation chairs every time they clear five more graduates, and Dr. June Maul is up to 25 and Dr. Cristie McClendon has reached 20.

“We streamlined systems and we’re really looking to improve a lot of the peer review and lots of other things,” Berger said. “Plus our faculty are more experienced. I’ve got chairs who have taught for me for five or six years, so they learn a thing or two.

“As we get that tenure, those faculty just get stronger and stronger and they’re better and better for the students.”

But this involves more than just knowledge. As Dr. Yassamin Ilyavi of Los Angeles reflected on her GCU experience after receiving her degree Friday, she thought about how her committee worked with her during some personal travails – she lost her brother to cancer, and it took her six years to complete her dissertation.

“I had a great dissertation chair – Dr. Larry Featherston,” she said. “He was excellent. He had genuine concern for my success. He demonstrated patience and gave me wise advice.”

Dr. Arthur Sylvester, a Houston resident who needed 4½ to complete his doctoral work, said, “The system and the structure is great. The structure is there. The scholarly work is there. It was a great program. I think it’s a testament to what the organization has done and the work they’ve put in.”

Even the keynote speaker at commencement, Gian Paul Gonzalez, helped the graduates. His “all in” sentiments hit home with Sylvester.

“You’re all in to get through this part, but this is where the ‘all in’ really kicks in because of the difference we can make – how do we pay this forward?” Sylvester said. “What difference does this process make? If you did this just to get your name on a piece of paper, you’re in it for the wrong reason. What’s your end result, what’s your mission, what’s your purpose in being here?

“I think all of us – all 140 doctoral candidates – we’re here for a reason, and I think it’s incumbent upon us to figure out what that reason is. You don’t know what you’re going ‘all in’ on until you figure out why you’re here.”

His “all in” is simple.

“My two sons. At this point in our lives we do everything for them.”

But the family also has to be understanding when a doctoral learner has work to do, which is often. Hayes talked of the sacrifices everyone had to make as he recounted his experience:

“It was very challenging. I have a 12-year-old son – he was 7 when I started. I’ve got a full-time job. I’ve got a family. I’m a den leader in Boy Scouts, I coached him in youth sports. Trying to do all that and the doctoral program, the one thing that sacrificed was usually sleep, and then my family time got cut down.”

But he found a way to get it done, enjoying several trips to GCU along the way for residencies and Promise Keeper events. It put an idea in his head.

“I love this campus,” he said. “I’m trying to tell my wife to let me move up here and try to get a job here. I love this place. I’m not too fond of Phoenix, but I love Grand Canyon University. This is a great school. I would love to work here. This is a phenomenal institution.”

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

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Levi Esses graduated from GCU in April with his Doctor of Education and Organizational Leadership with an Emphasis in Higher Education Leadership.

Story by Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau

When the dean of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan., resigned in the fall of 2014, Associate Dean Levi Esses wanted to become the new dean of students for his alma mater. But one thing stood in his way: He didn’t have his doctoral degree.

It encouraged Esses to start thinking about taking that next step in his education, which led him to Grand Canyon University.

“I went on Facebook and I was searching doctoral degrees online and I got on Facebook one day. GCU’s ad popped up about online doctoral programs,” Esses said. “So, I did a quick inquiry, and within five minutes, I got a phone call.”

Esses was taken aback when he realized just how impressive the whole enrollment experience was for him.

“That kind of locked me in — that response time and that attention to detail, that willingness to help me out, so I applied either that day or the next day and was admitted into the program and it was great.”

Levi Esses accepted a job as the dean of students at Mount St. Mary’s University.

For 4 1/2 years, Esses would work on his doctoral program while also accepting positions at Newman University as the dean of students in 2015, and Kansas State University as the associate director of new student services in 2018. But Esses had his eye on something bigger.

In late April, he came to GCU to walk across the commencement stage and accepted his diploma for his Doctor of Education and Organizational Leadership with an Emphasis in Higher Education Leadership degree, an achievement that would help Esses land the job he is set to start in June.

Esses accepted a position to become the new dean of students at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md.

“God had a plan, honestly. It all happened, I think, largely in part to my doctoral degree — that I had it finished — along with my experience in higher education,” Esses said.

It was a doctoral program that Esses said was a challenge but an experience that GCU made workable for him.

“I think GCU has really designed the program, really step by step, to help learners to be successful,” he said. “I just feel very connected to GCU, and you wouldn’t expect that in an online program.”

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

****

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Ashley Longoria with her husband and two children.

By Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau

Ashley Longoria has never been the kind of person to let anything prevent her from chasing her dreams, even something as life-changing as adding another member to her growing family.

Ashley Longoria passed her dissertation on May 28, a little more than a week before her due date.

Four years ago, a mere month after the birth of her second child, Longoria began working toward her Doctor of Education degree in Organizational Leadership at Grand Canyon University. The path to the end of an already challenging level of education was not easy for Longoria, who experienced numerous life changes on the road to the degree she had long desired.

During those four years, Longoria had to deal with the unexpected loss of her father, a divorce and custody battle, a new marriage and a promotion from Assistant Principal at Shadow Ridge High School in Surprise to Principal at Dysart Elementary School in El Mirage. When times would get hard, she would remember some words of encouragement she received during the second residency of her doctoral program.

“The professors were talking about how through this program, oftentimes people do get divorced or things happen in life and they either decide to keep going through the program or that’s what ends up breaking them,” said Longoria, who also got her Master of Education degree in Education Administration from GCU. “I think having those words of encouragement, even though I thought, ‘Oh, that won’t be me,’ once that did start to happen I was like, ‘OK, other people have gone through this and made it, so I can do it, too.’”

But passing her dissertation wasn’t her only challenge. Just nine days after successfully defending her dissertation, Longoria gave birth to her third child, a son named Declan. It wasn’t exactly how she planned it, but it worked out.

Declan was born on June 6 and weighed 9 pounds, 8 ounces.

“My original plan was to be done in three years, but after that, as I got closer to my due date, I thought I was going to be able to walk last April,” she said. “But then things just kind of took longer than they were supposed to.”

After finding out she was pregnant, the possibility of slowing her progress toward her degree wasn’t even a consideration for Longoria. Instead, she asked for her dissertation defense to be moved up as much as possible so she could do it before the baby arrived.

“If they wouldn’t have worked with me, I would have been defending in probably mid-June, maybe late June,” she said. “I had always heard horror stories of doctorate programs where people just give up because it’s just too hard, and I’m the type of person that if you tell me I can’t do something or you tell me that other people struggle, then I’m going to put my mind to it and do it no matter what.”

That drive did not go to waste — Longoria’s dissertation defense was successful. It’s an achievement she says she couldn’t have reached on her own.

“I think the program was the best program I could have picked, to go through GCU, because it allowed me to have all those life changes while still pursuing the dream that I wanted,” she said. “If I wasn’t at GCU, I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

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

***

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Photos by Elizabeth Tinajero and Enrique Lucha
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Thursday’s Welcome Week activities included socials for the Academic and Career Excellence (ACE) centers and transfer students, ROTC orientation and a welcome-back party for Worship Arts students.

The post Slideshow: Welcome Week, Day 4 appeared first on GCU Today.

Shavon Paul is actively working toward her doctorate through Grand Canyon University’s College of Doctoral Studies.

Third of a nine-part series on GCU academics.

Story and photos by Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau

A dissertation is one of the most difficult challenges in higher education. Learners are attempting to complete one of the hardest degree programs and essentially are writing a book, all while far surpassing what they had thought they knew about their field of study.

That reality is foremost in the minds of faculty members in Grand Canyon University’s College of Doctoral Studies in their quest to make the process go smoothly.

“We can’t make it easy, but we try to make it easier by the addition of all the great support services that we have,” said Dr. Michael Berger, the college’s dean.

Right from the start, the college offers services and resources to help guide learners toward their degrees in ways that few other doctoral programs do:

• Early dissertation focus
• Proposal and dissertation templates
• Milestone guide
• Long-term contracts with dissertation committee members
• Monthly training for dissertation committee members
• Numerous feedback opportunities
• Skilled research specialist teams and student service counselors

“I think the biggest thing that we do to help is the integration of the dissertation from the very first day of class,” Doctoral Chair Dr. Wayne Schmidt said. “I can tell you I heard the word dissertation twice in all of my coursework (at another university). When I was done with my coursework I got a letter that said, ‘Welcome to candidacy. Have a nice time writing your dissertation.’ That’s it.”

Learners from every degree attend multiple residencies on campus throughout the completion of their degree.

One of the first discussion questions learners are asked in their first GCU course is, “What are you thinking about as your dissertation topic?” Even if that same topic doesn’t make the final cut, Schmidt said, the important thing is that learners are at least thinking about it.

Learners also are given several resources to help the process flow more smoothly. One of those resources is a template to help organize their dissertation.

“Oftentimes if you look at other institutions, they’ll give learners a four- or five-page dissertation guide in terms of what should be in a dissertation,” Doctoral College Assistant Dean Dr. Cynthia Bainbridge said. “Our dissertation template is something that includes narrative of what you need to put in each section. We have detailed criteria tables and information specifically for the learners to include in each section and each chapter.”

Within the templates are rubrics with examples on how to structure the dissertation.

“The template says, ‘Hey, please do this’ but then the rubric is commentary on, ‘By the way, this is how you should do it.’ For instance, ‘This is an OK version of it, this is the preferred version of it, this would be an exceptional version of it,’” Berger said. “I think that’s really helpful to learners because so much of the dissertation is peer review. It’s not just, ‘I’m going to submit this once, I’ll get a grade and then I never have to do this again.’ No, you’re going to iteratively work on this document for much of your program.”

It is a resource Bainbridge believes is beneficial to learners, and other doctoral programs have noticed.

“We have a number of institutions that contacted us and asked if they could reference our template or refer their students to our template,” Bainbridge said. “We think it’s an excellent resource.”

In addition to templates, the college also offers its learners a milestone guide. Bainbridge said the guide “outlines every major milestone and then the corresponding steps to complete that milestone.”

As far as services go, GCU’s College of Doctoral Studies puts a major emphasis on making sure faculty are equipped to offer learners the best possible experience throughout their doctoral journey.

One way Berger and his team accomplish that goal is by establishing contracts with their chairs to increase the odds of a learner remaining with the same chair throughout the duration of their doctoral program.

Although their degree is mainly online, learners are able to meet and engage with one another in person within their residencies on campus.

“We actually assign a chair to each learner to chair their committee, and then our chairs also put on long-term contracts,” Bainbridge said. “Having our chairs on these long-term adjunct contracts really helps to maintain that relationship between the learner and the chair so that the learner can have their same committee and chair throughout their dissertation process.”

In addition to long term contracts, training for faculty continues past the initial hiring training.

“The training isn’t just a one-shot deal,” Assistant Dean Dr. Ronald Berman said. “We run webinars each and every month for faculty, we record them and then faculty can look at it if they miss the webinar so it’s not just we’ll give you some training in January and we’ll get back to you again next year, it’s each and every month.”

Through its services and resources, the college continues to strive to maintain a program that provides high quality in every area.

“Most colleges just look at the curriculum or the faculty or the technology. We’ve spent several years trying to put it all together, and we call that our DNA,” Berman said.

It is a method that, according to the doctoral DNA website, the college uses to link “all the essential elements of a doctor for the purpose of creating an engaging, effective and exciting educational experience for the GCU doctoral learner.”

The college also provides access to a research specialist team, to be a source of contact for any learner, faculty member or counselor who may need guidance throughout the research process.

“The dissertation process is complicated,” Bainbridge said. “It’s really their first piece of professional research, and so there’s a lot of learning that goes on in that process. By having a research specialists team, we can really do a great job of extending support to the learners, first and foremost, and our faculty as well as help support the counselors and their work of supporting the learners.”

Learner feedback is frequently used as well to help keep track of what learners enjoy and what they think needs improvement within their program.

By doing this, Berger and his staff are making efforts to combat what people think they know about doctoral programs and help learners know exactly what they can expect within the program. The college also hopes to challenge learners to be open to expanding their knowledge in their area of study despite the level of experience or level of education they have on the topic.

“This is a completely different kind of learning,” Schmidt said. “I use the expression, ‘A doctoral degree is not about getting smarter, it’s about getting better.’”

And getting better is what the College of Doctoral Studies continues to do as it quickly approaches surpassing a thousand graduates. It is an accomplishment the college has worked hard for with no plans of slowing down anytime soon.

“We want to get everyone to that finish line,” Berger said. “I know the things that we do … we believe they have a positive impact on learners’ success, and learner’s success is 100% what we’re focused on.”

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

****

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Hestia Elmes is working toward her doctoral degree in Business Administration and Management.

By Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau

Hestia Elmes wants to become the first doctor in the family. That’s why she came all the way from Hartbeespoort, South Africa, for a five-day residency organized by the College of Doctoral Studies.

Elmes, who is married and has a young son, Bester, said she was drawn to begin her doctoral journey with Grand Canyon University for two reasons.

“South African universities, the degrees are not on the same standard as the rest of the world, so I wanted to do something outside of the country,” Elmes said. “Then I found the Doctor of Business Administration Program, I looked at a few programs and then I saw that GCU has one that’s online, which obviously worked for me very well and also that it’s a Christian university. So it was like, ‘I’m definitely doing that,’ and that’s when I started.”

Throughout her time in the program Elmes has come to appreciate the structure that GCU’s College of Doctoral Studies has created for its learners.

“The way the program is structured is very nice,” Elmes said. “You had all your subjects at the beginning, which is more like your basics to lay the foundation, and now we’re at the stage where it’s becoming more dissertation oriented so you kind of know where you’re going and there’s a lot of lectures to help you get there. It’s not as scary as you just go there and do your dissertation.”

Despite the solid structure, Elmes’ path through her program hasn’t always worked out as planned. Early on in the process, her pregnancy with her first son required her to do some rescheduling.

“When I was scheduled for the residency, it fell on my due date, so I had to move the date of the residency later on to when my baby was 4 or 5 months old,” Elmes said.

Now, about two years into her doctoral program and nearing the dissertation phase, Elmes attended her second residency while pregnant with her second son, Christoff.

Once she passes her dissertation phase, Elmes has plans on taking a proper tour of the United States.

“When I’m graduating I’m bringing my family, my mother, my mother-in-law — everybody’s coming to watch me do that and then we’re planning on doing a little tour of America because at this stage I’m literally just coming for the classes,” Elmes said. “I want to see more of America.”

Elmes plans to utilize her doctoral degree by teaching at a university back home in South Africa.

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

***

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The post South African values structure of doctoral program appeared first on GCU Today.

By Rick Vacek
GCU News Bureau

Easier said than done. But so important to do.

That’s why Grand Canyon University faculty members gather six times during the academic year to talk about their commitment to teaching from a Christian perspective. The One Foundation Lunch and Learn sessions, scheduled for the second Friday of the month, are an excellent opportunity to compare classroom experiences – to see how it’s done.

Dr. Jason Hiles, Dean of the College of Theology

“It sustains a conversation that is necessary,” College of Theology Dean Dr. Jason Hiles said. “You can come in and get the foundational understandings of faith integration, but when you try to walk into the classroom it’s actually harder than it sounds.

“Theoretically, this makes all the sense in the world. But when you try it out, there’s a possibility, one, of discouragement and, two, you’re maybe not totally comfortable and confident.”

The 2019-20 theme is “Faith Integration in the Classroom and Beyond,” and the first session was Friday in the Technology Building.

College of Theology instructor Manny Cota led it off by talking about what ethics actually is. He said it’s not the law or church doctrine; instead, it comes down to “what kind of a thing a human being is” and “what kind of a life a human being should live.”

“What kind of life fulfills the function and purpose of being a human being?” he asked the group, pointing to four Bible passages: Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 5:1, Genesis 9:6 and this one from James 3:9-10:

Manny Cota

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

“To be human is to be created in the image of God,” Cota concluded.

The Lunch and Learn features a presentation by a different college each month, and the College of Education (COE) again was in the leadoff position because, Hiles said, its group does such an outstanding job in its annual One Foundation session.

Moderators Sonya Berges and Dr. Lisa Bernier led a panel of three COE instructors, one from each credit area: Paul Danuser (traditional), Michelle Keso (adjunct faculty) and Brian Clark (online).

In response to the moderators’ question about how specific courses lend themselves to the discussion and consideration of human value and dignity, Danuser pointed to an example in his EDU 330 class (Social Justice for Educators) that occurred just two days earlier as the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001, was being remembered across the country.

Paul Danuser

“It’s a lot about the ‘isms’ that we see in our world,” said Danuser, who leads off the class every semester with Zechariah 7:9-10:

This is what the Lord Almighty said: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.  Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.”

“How do we prepare students for the trauma they will see?” Danuser asked. “If we can get these students to realize they have value and to teach their students that they have value, that’s a step.”

He said real-world issues come up in just about every class, and on 9/11 he asked his class these questions: “What can we do? How do we pray about this? How do we prepare to work with our kids who are going to be dealing with these things?”

Keso added, “I think we’re all very purposeful about telling students this is a profession where they will make a difference.”

The discussion then transitioned to integrating the Christian worldview into the classroom. Keso said she does it by trying to get past academic performance and modeling, “I care about you.” She said she often asks to pray with students after asking what their best hopes are.

These are instructors who are well-versed in teaching and in how GCU goes about it.

Keso met her husband at the University and has two children who graduated from GCU. “GCU has had a huge effect on my family,” she said.

Danuser, better known for his work as the public-address announcer for GCU men’s basketball games, is in his 38th year of teaching and is as passionate about that subject as he is about how GCU shows students the right way to do it. In discussing COE’s intentional approach to demonstrating the importance of value and dignity throughout the program, he said it’s all about learning, leading and serving.

“The most important thing to have,” he added, “is humility.”

The most provocative discussion came when the panelists were asked how they teach students to effectively handle the hot-button issues that come into play in education today, such as a student who refuses to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

They cited a C.S. Lewis quote …

“Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.”

… and Psalm 56:3:

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

Keso talked about the importance of seeking wisdom in dealing with troubled students, and Danuser stressed the benefits of having more Christian teachers modeling Christian values – even if they can’t discuss them – in public schools.

At GCU, of course, Christian values are a regular, very evident part of every class. The University wants those discussions to be positive and effective, and that was the idea when the Lunch and Learns were launched in 2013.

Faculty members who want more useful information and examples about integrating faith in the classroom are encouraged to attend the Lunch and Learns. That way, Hiles said, they can learn and then apply those lessons several times over, if necessary. The first 100 faculty members who sign up get a free lunch.

“Continual improvement, continual adjustment with a community that’s encouraging you can be a much more sustainable, more much viable, much more long term strategy,” he added.

Here are the remaining Lunch and Learns, which college is leading each one, and sign-up deadlines and links:

Oct. 11 – College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, sign up here between Sept. 20 and Oct. 2

Nov. 8 – Colangelo College of Business, sign up here between Oct. 18 and 30

Jan. 10 – College of Humanities and Social Sciences, sign up here between Nov. 15 and Jan. 1

Feb. 14 – College of Fine Arts and Production, sign up here between Jan. 17 and Feb. 5

March 13 – College of Science, Engineering and Technology, sign up here between Feb. 21 and March 4

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

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By Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau

Joseph Hattrick was chosen to be a contestant on an episode of “Wheel of Fortune” that will air Friday. (Courtesy of Carol Kaelson)

WHEEL!

OF!

FORTUNE!

It’s a chant that has become synonymous with relaxing at home and enjoying a bit of television. But Grand Canyon University doctoral alumnus Dr. Joseph Hattrick got to see what it’s like to spin the wheel and try to solve word puzzles on the popular game show.

Hattrick’s appearance on “Wheel of Fortune” is scheduled to be aired at 7  p.m. Friday on KTVK 3TV, but it was put in motion in March, shortly after he earned his GCU degree in Organizational Leadership in K-12 Education. He heard the WheelMobile, a bus that travels from city to city to find contestants, was in town and decided to try his luck even though he hardly ever watched the show.

“’I have no idea what this is, but it sounds fun,” he recalls thinking.

To his surprise, he glided through the first round of auditions with ease, even solving the puzzle, and was selected for the second round.

That’s when Hattrick started to question how much further he’d go.

Hattrick earned his Doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership in K-12 Education in February and received his diploma in April.

“It was me and I would guess about 50 people in the room, and we were all sitting in conference-style chairs and it was similar to the first audition,” he said. “There would be a puzzle on the board and they would call a name. You would stand up and you’d shout a letter. If the letter was there, you get to do another letter.

“I stood up three times — I got the wrong letter each time,” he said. “I sat down and thought, ‘OK, my day’s over. That was terrible.’”

Nevertheless, he was one of 20 people chosen for the final audition, then was selected as a contestant.

Once on the show, Hattrick was surprised by how familiar the experience felt — thanks to his work in the doctoral program.

“Solving puzzles under pressure kind of mimicked the dissertation and defense,” Hattrick said. “It was a lot of pressure during the defense and you have to think on your feet while your committee is staring you down. So it was very similar knowing that although the audience only has a couple hundred people, they’re all staring you down.

“Being there was a lot of fun. It was also a lot of stress.”

The College of Doctoral Studies also provided him the opportunity to finish his degree, something he didn’t do in his previous doctoral program at another university.

Hattrick (second from left in purple shirt) is the principal and superintendent of Riverbend Prep in Laveen.

“The part that encouraged me about Grand Canyon was the embedded dissertation process,” he said. “Doing residencies throughout the program, familiarizing yourself with what the dissertation will be early on, that was also attractive to me.”

Despite having to take occasional leaves of absence while transitioning into his new role as both principal and superintendent at Riverbend Prep in Laveen, the College of Doctoral Studies helped him achieve his goal.

“It was definitely a good choice,” Hattrick said. “I have goals to become adjunct or faculty (at GCU) at some point because they have a great reputation.”

As for his time on “Wheel of Fortune,” Hattrick hopes the GCU community finds enjoyment in seeing a recent graduate on the show.

“I would just encourage people to watch it to see a familiar face or a familiar story, and they can find out for themselves how I did,” He said.

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

****

Related content:

GCU Today: Doctoral program goes the extra mile for learners

GCU Today: Doctoral program keeps growing in grads, raves

The post Doctoral alumnus takes a spin on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ appeared first on GCU Today.

DOMINIQUE ADKINS

College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Doctoral Studies

Dominique Adkins

Title: Online Full Time Faculty for Clinical Mental Health master’s program and Counselor Education and Supervision doctoral program.

Years at GCU: 1½ years. 

Academic degrees:

● Ed.D. 2015, Counselor Education and Supervision (CACREP-accredited) from Marymount University

● M.A. 2012, Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CACREP-accredited) from Marymount University

● B.A. 2008, Psychology from Georgetown University

Faculty scholarship (publications, scholarly presentations, fellowships, etc.):

Professional conference presentations:

● Adkins, D. (2019, November). “As We Forgive Our Debtors: Predictors of Forgiveness Among African Americans.” Virginia Counseling Association (VCA) Conference, Hot Springs, Va.

● Boie, I., Adkins, D., Holmes, V., Spafford, J., Hudson, S. (2014, November) “Horse Power and Wisdom: Equine Assisted Psychotherapy in Counseling.” Virginia Counseling Association (VCA) Conference, Williamsburg, Va.

● Holmes, V.,  Adkins, D., Hudson, S., & Georgieva, M. (2014, October). “Healing, Health & Spirituality in Counseling Multicultural Populations.” Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (SACES) Conference, Birmingham, Ala.

● Holmes, V.,  Adkins, D., Hudson, S., & Georgieva, M. (2014, September). “Healing, Health & Spirituality in Counseling Multicultural Populations.” European Branch of American Counseling Association, Milan, Italy.

● Holmes, V. & Adkins, D. (2013, October). “Get with the Program! Unifying Counselor Educators and Graduate Counseling Students on Best Practices for Helping Students Through Their Program Healthier Than When They Started.” Research presented at Association Counselor Education and Supervision Conference, Denver.

● Spafford, J., Holmes, V., Adkins, D. (2013, February). Creativity in Counseling Supervision. Paper presented at the Virginia Counselor Education and Supervision Graduate Student Research Conference, Harrisonburg, Va.

Poster presentations:

● Adkins, D. (July, 2019). “As We Forgive Our Debtors: Predictors of Forgiveness Among African Americans.” The Association of Black Psychologists, Orlando, Fla. 

● Adkins, D. (March, 2017). “As We Forgive Our Debtors: Predictors of Forgiveness Among African Americans.” American Counseling Association (ACA), San Francisco.

● Adkins, D. (October, 2016). “Cultural, Religious/Spiritual, and Transgression-Related Predictors of Forgiveness.” Southern Association of Counselor Educators (SACES), New Orleans.

● Jackson-Cherry, L., Foster, R, Holmes, V., Hudson, S, and Adkins, D. (2014, September). “Spiritual and religious issues encountered during mid-life.” European Branch of American Counseling Association, Milan, Italy.

● Holmes, V. & Adkins, D. (2014, April). “Burnout Prevention and the Importance of Self-care.” Poster presentation at Marymount University Student Research Conference, Arlington, Va.

● Jackson-Cherry, L., Foster, R, Holmes, V., Hudson, S, and Adkins, D. (2014, March). “Spiritual and religious issues encountered during mid-life.” Poster presented at American Counseling Association Conference, Honolulu.

● Hudson, S., Holmes, V.,  Adkins, D., Zapf., L., & Zappalla, S. (2013, October). “Creativity in Counseling Supervision.” Poster presented at the Association Counselor Education and Supervision Conference: Denver 

● Holmes, V. & Adkins, D. (2012, October). “Burnout Prevention and the Importance of Self-care.” Poster presented at the European Branch of American Counseling Association, Weisloch, Germany

Notable research in your field: My research looking at the factors that influence forgiveness within the African American community. I am currently working toward replicating the study with a larger sample.

What are you most passionate about in your field? As a licensed professional counselor and counselor educator, I am passionate about educating and empowering my students to advocate for the profession and their clients. In my clinical work with children and families, I am passionate about equipping each family with skills and resources to improve their overall well-being.

What aspect of your teaching style is the most distinctive and/or memorable? My enthusiasm and positivity. I try my best to make the learning experience enjoyable and meaningful by incorporating creativity and technology into the learning experience.

What do you like to do for fun in your spare time? I enjoy traveling, exercising and spending time with friends and family in my free time. I hope to combine my love of tennis and travel by attending all the Grand Slams.

What is something interesting about you that most people don’t know? In college I was a member of the Georgetown University Gospel Choir, and I sang with Yolanda Adams at the Kennedy Center during the Martin Luther King Day celebration. The experience was truly awesome!

The post Faculty Focus: Dominique Adkins appeared first on GCU Today.

Dexter Wimbish is pursuing a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership with an Emphasis in Higher Education Leadership degree.

By Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau

Dexter Wimbish once was the youngest general counsel for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. founded in 1957. Now he’s a municipal court judge in Griffin, Ga., and wants to help young people follow in his footsteps — with the help of a doctoral degree from Grand Canyon University.

Wimbish was on campus recently for a doctoral residency, part of his work towards his Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership with an Emphasis in Higher Education Leadership degree. He is an adjunct professor at Mercer University and hopes to retire from the legal field in five years, then join the full-time faculty at a university — and maybe even be president of an educational institution someday soon.

“I love working with young people and imparting some of the wisdom I’ve gained over the years,” he said.

Wimbish, who has worked alongside prominent civil rights advocates, such as James Orange, C. T. Vivian and John Lewis, said he first got involved in the civil-rights movement at age 26 and integrated it into his work in the legal field. He has also been active on other issues, such as environmental justice and criminal justice reform.

After more than two decades of making an impact in the legal world, Wimbish is ready to cross another goal off his bucket list.

“I’ve always loved being a student and, in retrospect, I should have just stayed in school 25 years ago, just got the doctorate out of the way. But I knew I would come back to it eventually,” He said.

With the completion of his third residency, he has reached the proposal stage of his doctoral program. Wimbish said he was drawn to GCU by the University’s Christian background and by the doctoral program’s online structure.

“It just seemed to be a good fit for me,” He said. “It’s a marathon, without a doubt, especially trying to work this into your everyday life and you’re still working and you’ve got family responsibilities. But it’s been really exciting for me.”

He hopes to finish his degree within the next 18 months.

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

****

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GCU Today: Doctoral program goes the extra mile for learners

The post Judge, civil rights activist on the path to doctorate appeared first on GCU Today.

Keynote speaker Kirk Cameron shakes hands with the graduates as they approach the stage.

Story by Ashlee Larrison
Photos by David Kadlubowski
GCU News Bureau

It was part of God’s mission for Kirk Cameron: his journey through the world of show business, his spiritual awakening and his most recent title — keynote speaker at Grand Canyon University Fall Commencement.

Cameron said he was a little nervous about giving his first Commencement speech.

From a young age, Cameron always wanted to be a doctor. He was a shy kid and didn’t like getting on stage and talking in front of people. He had to overcome his fear.

“I wanted to be Ben Carson — I wanted to be a surgeon,” Cameron said. “I ended up becoming Mike Seaver.”

As in young Mike Seaver on the 1980s hit show “Growing Pains.” Cameron went on to become a prominent actor in Christian films such as the “Left behind” franchise or “Fireproof,” but that wasn’t the only prominent change in his life.

“I grew up as an atheist as a kid,” Cameron said. “I never went to church, didn’t grow up in a Christian home. But I discovered the Lord when I was about 17 years old, and that was the biggest change in my life.

“Knowing who I am and whose I am and being in a relationship with God as my Master made all the difference.”

Through his growing faith and relationship with the Lord, Cameron made moral decisions on “Growing Pains” and other key decisions that he said shaped his character and reputation.

Cameron lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Chelsea Noble. Five of their six children are scattered across the country, in college or working. He is focused on projects that allow him to combine his career with his mission of sharing the Gospel.

“One of the things that I’ve really long to do is share the Gospel with people through evangelism,” he said. “I’ve been able to do some television shows and other things that have the gospel in them and shares the gospel with people so that people can know Christ. I think that’s a big part of God’s plan and mission for me.”

Cameron also teaches at marriage and parenting conferences and does keynote speeches for ministries and organizations.

Cameron also teaches at marriage and parenting conferences and does keynote speeches for ministries and organizations. He said he is interested in teaching at the university level.

He tackled his first commencement speech as he does most things in his life — by overcoming fear.

“This was really exciting,” Cameron said. “I was a little nervous. I’ve never done it before. I knew with all these Christian families, it was just really a special blessing to be part of this day that they’ll remember for their whole life.”

Cameron talked to the Fall Commencement gatherings about the importance of overcoming fear to take that next step and shared with them the three most important companions to carry with them: The Master (the Lord), Their Mission and Their Mate (Friend or Spouse).

“Fear is like an invisible wall,” Cameron told them. “Once you take that first scary step through that imaginary wall, something wonderful happens. That fear has lost its power over you.”

He also urged the audience to forget their past, focus on their future and not to let fear keep them from perseverance when the going gets tough. Reflecting on Derek Redmond’s 1992 Summer Olympic games 400-meter run and his determination to finish in the race despite tearing his hamstring, first on his own and then with the assistance of his father, Cameron highlighted the courage it took for Redmond to keep going.

“Graduates, if you never give up and refuse to quit, you will finish your race,” he concluded. “Enjoy the trip, I’ll see you at the destination.”

As graduates approached the stage to receive their diplomas, Cameron stayed true to his word, meeting and shaking hands with them. 

“I was excited for everybody, so it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. I wanted to say congratulations,” he said. “It was great to meet so many of them … it was really exciting.”

Photos were taken, questions were answered and Cameron’s message was one the audience won’t soon forget.

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

The post Kirk Cameron delivers powerful message to grads appeared first on GCU Today.

Photos by Mathew McGraw
GCU News Bureau

The College of Doctoral Studies and master’s graduates from the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions were featured Friday at the 9 a.m. ceremony during Fall Commencement at Grand Canyon University.

The post Slideshow: Fall Commencement, Friday morning ceremony appeared first on GCU Today.

GCU News Bureau

Editor’s note: Of all the ceremonies in any group of Grand Canyon University commencements, the one for the College of Doctoral Studies produces the most emotions. These are the people who often worked the most years and did the most work to reach the highest degree of scholarship. In this version of My LopeLife, the GCU Today feature in which students, faculty, staff and alumni share enlightening experiences, we hear from two doctoral graduates with a lot to say about that journey. The 9 a.m. Friday ceremony also included master’s graduates from the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, so their chance to reminisce and advise is here as well. For a full replay of the ceremony, click here.

College of Doctoral Studies

Twenty years ago, my husband was a 38-year-old minister working on his master’s degree. I was a full-time Human Resources professional with three years of college, all completed in my 20s, and planning to return once Ivan was finished with his program. Our two sons were in their late grade school years, busy with school, sports and friends.

Ivan, always athletic, started missing shots in his pickup basketball games. Kids he coached noticed he was slurring his words. “Mister Huff, did you do drugs?” one of them asked.

Dr. Christina Huff (right) and her husband, Ivan, during their visit to GCU Arena for Commencement on Friday.

After five months of testing, a Mayo Clinic specialist informed us Ivan had Probable Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, and should get his affairs in order and be prepared to give up preaching within the next six months.

After the shock subsided, we decided we would live life, not live ALS. While we’d certainly take advantage of all options to treat the ALS, we’d continue our focus on the life God had given us and care first for our relationship with Him, each other, kids, work, church, vacations, school – all the wonderful life we had in front of us. This focus on life let us fully experience the peace of God that comes with trusting Him with our life outcomes.

Faced with an impending loss of income (and no disability or social security benefits to replace it!), I realized I could either work two jobs or return to school and get my master’s degree and grow. So back to school I went, earning my bachelor’s degree in Human Resources within a year and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) two years later.

During these three years I continued working full-time, moved into a new job with more responsibility and travel, and cared for a husband, who had growing mobility issues. Although school had always been easy and a joy for me, there were moments along the way where I thought – how will I get through this class?  As I look back, God was faithful and met my needs even before I knew I had them, providing the support I needed to get to the finish line.

With an MBA under my belt, I was certain I was finished with school. The additional education paved the way for continued career growth into executive HR leadership positions, making the MBA so worthwhile. I also received opportunities to pass along experience to others, teaching HR-related courses at the undergrad and graduate level. However, the more I did the more I realized I wanted to know, to be an expert, in the “how and why” of people success at work.

This desire to know more culminated seven years ago in the start of my doctoral journey. When I saw the Ph.D. in Psychology with an Emphasis in Industrial and Organizational Psychology (I/O) offered at GCU, I knew this was the opportunity to accomplish my goal.

The courses were a pure joy. When I completed my B.A. in HR, I already had been in the HR field a good 10-plus years and knew much of what was included in the courses. The MBA was great knowledge to have but had very few courses dedicated specifically to understanding people success at work.

However, the doctoral I/O classes were finally discussing my passions and were exactly what I had hoped to cover! Even the dissertation journey, although so much longer than anyone can imagine at the start, allowed me to explore areas of interest that brighten my eyes to this day!

What about Ivan, you ask? Ivan continued preaching for five years after his diagnosis as he slowly declined and was eventually reassessed and diagnosed with Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS), a much slower progressing “cousin” disease to ALS.  

After he retired from full-time ministry, he went on to write a book and continues to weekly pray for and email a long list of friends and family. Although wheelchair bound and dependent on full-time nursing assistance, he has been single-minded in his dedication to make this PLS journey as easy as possible for the rest of us.

Ivan also has been my strongest supporter these last seven Ph.D.-marathon years, staying up with me every long night and encouraging me with his pride. I am grateful that despite the odds, Ivan and our wonderfully supportive kids and their families are here now to see me graduate! Our parents and extended family also have been such an important part of this experience.

We are blessed! Now, onward and upward – I’m excited to use this Ph.D. wherever possible to help people be successful at work.

Dr. Christina Huff

Doctor of Philosophy in General Psychology: Industrial and Organizational Psychology

****

Doctoral graduates always sit in the front rows at Commencement. (Photo by Mathew McGraw)

My commencement story has three phases:

Phase 1: Initial phase (honeymoon)

I began with exceptional confidence and embraced each new course with a joy for learning. Of course, I responded to the online post with timely, completed assignments and engaged with peers online.

Additionally, I met some great colleagues who enhanced my level of confidence about obtaining the doctoral degree. Surely, GCU would not make this too challenging.

Phase 2: Transition begins (reality)

My job workload increased, and I began to experience anxiety about completing the program. I visited my physician and discovered additional health concerns and was asked, “Is it worth your health?” I discovered a virus on my computer threatening my writing thus far.

I began to pray and ask God to end this and give me clarity on some next steps. Often, I sought out others to pray with me and agree this degree was not intended to be. No one offered to support this prayer request.

Phase 3: Challenges to overcome (uphill climb)

I continued to give myself permission to quit the program – the work challenges, eye strain and increasing joint stiffness were pliable excuses, I thought. Quitting would be an easier solution. Besides this had now become a long, lonesome journey with no end in sight!

Finish line (Dissertation done)

I sought God for direction and my next steps. Then another doctoral student who graduated earlier reached out and guided me along the way. Dissertation defense was amazing, and I learned so much in a short timeframe. Most assuredly, the word “congratulations” was music to my ears.

The lessons learned on this journey:

• Listen to your chair’s advice – humility goes a long way
• Keep writing and reading
• Take a break – this journey requires your best attention
• Lean on each other – seeking too much advice might delay your progress
• Seek God’s guidance, rely on your faith and respond with thankfulness
• Stick to the never-quit attitude

I am thankful to Dr. Jimmy Brown, my committee members and many doctoral contemporaries. Grand Canyon University is an exemplary school with an excellent curriculum for doctoral students. GCU has been an educational keystone for my personal career and several family members during the past few years. #Nevergiveup #GCUthebest

Dr. Regina Smith

Doctor of Business Administration: Management

A new graduate expresses her bliss after receiving her diploma. (Photo by Mathew McGraw)

College of Nursing and Health Care Professions

Everything was going wonderfully. I had a good handle on my new job as I started my master’s adventure at GCU. I had a 4.0 GPA, my work/life/travel balance was a challenge but manageable because of my wonderful support system at home, and with six months left until graduation I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Then, on May 26, my husband and I found out we were expecting. To say we were beyond surprised would be an understatement since we utilized in-vitro conceiving our daughter and never thought we would be able to have a baby without the assistance of reproductive medicine.

The next three months were filled with disbelief that we were actually having another child, gratitude that we were blessed with such a miracle and pure exhaustion and sickness on my part. There were many days where I could barely get out of bed, and my discussion posts were done between naps and episodes of morning, afternoon and evening sickness.

Much like everything in life, that too did pass and I am now seven months pregnant with our son, who is healthy and ever-growing. I still am keeping steady with a 4.0 GPA, and upon reflection I am nothing but amazed I made it through the past seven months.

The biggest lesson I have learned is that God is amazing. If you slow down and take time to listen to Him and have faith in Him, His guidance always will get you through the more difficult times.

Stephanie Holmstrom

M.S. in Health Care Administration

****

Beginning the journey to obtain my MSN wasn’t even on my radar until I got a phone call from a co-worker telling me she had signed up with GCU to begin her master’s. I determined after some thought that after nearly 20 years as a nurse the time was never going to be right, so I decided to join her and two other co-workers in the journey together.

All four of us had been working professional nurses for years, and jumping back in the saddle of coursework, participation posts, discussion questions and APA papers proved to be too much. Two quit by Week 2.

Fast-forward to the week before graduation, and here I stand the lone wolf. Even though I ultimately ended up making the journey alone, I never would have started it without my co-workers, and I’m glad I did.

Mya Daily-Haddix

M.S. in Nursing

****

Graduation Day! For me, this is a most exciting day because I’m 72 years old, and I’m sure the oldest chick in the class!

Receiving my master’s degree is a career-long desire to be all I can be with God’s grace, help and divine guidance. He has blessed my life with a wonderful family, a most interesting nursing career, a book published in 2014 called “The Earthen Vessel” and a desire to keep learning and growing no matter how old I am!

I owe the Lord all my thanks and thank Grand Canyon University, its teachers, its staff and my fellow classmates for making this a wonderfully rewarding adventure.

Nancy Wilferd

M.S. in Mental Health and Wellness

****

Becoming a nurse is something I always knew I wanted to do. However, as a child of the foster care system, I often was told this goal was “setting my standards too high.”

Teachers, counselors, parents, and other influential people in my life encouraged me to spend my time in something else because they didn’t want to see me fail – clearly, failure was what they expected.

I’m not just celebrating earning a master’s degree. I’m not just celebrating earning this degree with a 4.0. I’m celebrating overcoming years of others telling me what I couldn’t do, and with this I am opening a nonprofit for adolescents aging out of foster care. I will show them everything they CAN do! 

Leora Bain

M.S. in Nursing

The post My LopeLife: Tales of doctoral, nursing challenges appeared first on GCU Today.

More than 100 learners graduated from the College of Doctoral Studies at Friday morning’s Fall Commencement ceremony.

By Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau

It seems like just yesterday that Dr. Michael Berger, Dean of the College of Doctoral Studies (CDS), was signing the college’s landmark 500th dissertation at Grand Canyon University.

That was in December 2017, and the milestone dissertation belonged to a GCU faculty member — Dr. Melissa Beddow, Director of the Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science Program in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology. Less than two years later, as Fall Commencement featured another 100-plus doctoral graduates, Berger announced that he already has signed the 1,000th dissertation.

As the newest doctoral grads took their march across the stage to be hooded and receive their degrees Friday morning, the doctoral faculty couldn’t have been prouder.

Doctoral graduates are hooded and celebrated at each CDS graduation ceremony.

“We’ve had such an exponential increase in graduates in the last two years,” said Dr. Cynthia Bainbridge, Assistant Dean of the College of Doctoral Studies (CDS). “It’s very exciting.”

Receiving a doctoral degree is considered the most challenging task in a learner’s academic journey, and it is notable that the University is constantly evolving to better suit the needs of its learners.

“The program has been maturing in a lot of ways. We’ve been maturing in how we work with learners, how we set expectations with learners, the strategies that are the most effective. I think we’re getting a better understanding of who our learners are and how we can help them be successful, because that’s always the goal,” Berger said. “It’s a major step up in expert and interpersonal power. It’s going to give them a chance to be heard, and we want them out there making change.”

Dr. Ronald Berman, Assistant Dean of CDS, said that very focus on learner success through growth and innovation is one of the many qualities that sets GCU’s doctoral program apart.

“Our students’ success is our success because we demonstrate the ability to innovate,” Berman said. “The way we train our faculty, the way we’ve implemented technology, we don’t accept the notion that achieving a doctorate is impossible. We use every way we can to enable our learners’ success, and we’ve done that well over the last couple of years.”

Graduates go on to become experts in their fields and make significant impacts. For Dissertation Program Chair Dr. Patricia Chess, seeing GCU’s learners take that huge step makes it all worthwhile.

The College of Doctoral Studies just passed the milestone of signing 1,000 dissertations.

“I feel proud,” Chess said. “We’ve seen a lot of the challenges, and this is not an easy thing to accomplish. And so when we meet them at Commencement, it’s very exciting for us to watch them walk across the stage. We’re proud that we helped them reach those goals for themselves.”

Bainbridge said, “We see all of these learners, we know their names, we see them in class. Their names become very familiar during their time in the program, and so when they graduate and they come across that stage, we’re as proud of them as their families. Commencement is a really special day for the faculty and the staff and everybody that’s been involved in their journeys.”

It’s an accomplishment that few people reach, and what makes it more special is that it’s an achievement many learners never could have imagined growing up.

“We have a significant number of people who are not just the first person in their family to get a doctorate, they are the first person in their family to go to college,” Doctor of Education Program Chair Dr. Wayne Schmidt said. “That’s kind of exciting.” 

For others, such as Doctor of Philosophy Program Chair Dr. Jim Hadley, witnessing the 1,000 dissertation milestone and watching just some of the learners who made that accomplishment possible at Commencement was an opportunity to reflect and appreciate its significance.

“I’m humbled by the opportunity to help change lives,” Hadley said. “One thousand people. That we get to be a part of their life is just humbling, so I really appreciate that.”

Dr. Danny Morris and daughter Autumn attended Friday morning’s Commencement ceremony.

And the graduates at the 2019 Fall commencement ceremony appreciate it, too.

For Dr. Danny Morris, who received his degree as a Ph.D. in General Psychology with an Emphasis in Integrating Technology, Learning and Psychology, obtaining his degree had its fair share of obstacles, but his time within the doctoral program helped make it possible.

“I was able to get through with the faith of God and support of my family,” Morris said. “I was able to get through and persevere and complete my studies, and I just want to give honor to God for doing that.”

Morris decided to get his degree from GCU after doing some research and realizing that the University was the best fit for his doctoral needs. He hopes to use his degree to continue his research into finding permanent homes for foster children.

As learners begin this new chapter in their careers, Berger and his staff hope they will continue to utilize the skills they obtained in their program.

“I think the heart of any doctorate is the development of more critical thinking skills and the understanding of the process that is the systematic creation of new knowledge,” Berger said. “Whether you’re in psychology, leadership or business, that process is the most important thing I hope they take away.”

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

****

Related content:

GCU Today: Slideshow: Fall Commencement, Friday evening ceremony

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GCU Today: My LopeLife: Nurses know all about hanging tough

GCU Today: My LopeLife: Tales of doctoral, nursing challenges

GCU Today: Slideshow: Fall Commencement, Friday afternoon ceremony

GCU Today: Slideshow: Fall Commencement, Friday morning ceremony

GCU Today: My LopeLife: Stories from Thursday evening session

GCU Today: Slideshow: Fall Commencement, Thursday evening ceremony

GCU Today: Jamaican graduate hopes degree will impact others

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GCU Today: Slideshow: Fall Commencement, Thursday afternoon ceremony

GCU Today: Slideshow: Fall Commencement, Thursday morning ceremony

GCU Today: My LopeLife: Humanities grads share their joy

The post GCU reaches 1,000 signed doctoral dissertations appeared first on GCU Today.

CHUCK BANASZEWSKI

College of Doctoral Studies

Chuck Banaszewski and his family

Title: Assistant Professor

Years at GCU: 8 years (7 years with the College of Doctoral Studies)

Academic degrees: Ph.D. in Theatre from Arizona State University; B.A. in Theatre from Coastal Carolina University

Faculty scholarship:

Dissertation Title:

● “Adult Theatre of the Oppressed Facilitators’ Perceptions of Questions, Roles, and Rules When Using Theatre of the Oppressed with Adolescents”

Latest Publications:

● Kelly, S. & Banaszewski. C. (2018). “Using screen recording platforms to increase instructor presence in an online classroom.” eLearn Magazine. https://doi.org/10.1145/3236715

● Banaszewski, C. (2014). “Becoming a researcher scholar.” In A. DiVincenzo (Ed.), “Find your purpose: The path to a successful doctoral experience.” Available from http://lc.gcumedia.com/res811/finding-your-purpose-the-path-to-a-successful-doctoral-experience/v1.1/

Some Dated Publications:

● Banaszewski, C. (2006, Spring). “There is something in nothing.” Stage of the Art, American Alliance for Theatre & Education.

● Banaszewski, C. (2001, Fall). “Invisible Theatre: Lunch Period Drama.” Stage of the Art, American Alliance for Theatre & Education.

Subject Matter Expert:

● Intro to Advance Graduate Studies and Scholarship Course (RES-811) and Digital Storytelling Course (DFP-311).

University Committee Membership:

● Member: Curriculum Development Committee for the College of Doctoral Studies

● Member: Program Standards and Evaluation Committee Member

Recent Scholarly Presentations:

● MCCCD: Arizona Assessment Conference, March 2019, “Using Screen Recording Platforms to Enhance Feedback

And Instructor Presence in an Online Classroom”

● MCCCD: Contemplating Holistic Learning Dialogue Day, November 2018, “Staying the Course: Integrating Contemplative Practice in the

Online Classroom”

American Association for Teaching & Curriculum, October 2017

● Panel Session: “Faculty Connectedness among Doctoral Online, Full-Time Faculty in Their Daily Instructional Activities Using An Open, Onsite Office Environment”

Some Dated Conference Presentations:

● Pedagogy/Theatre of the Oppressed Conference, Chapel Hill, N.C., May 2006: “We Find the Road by Talking: A Dialogue among Researchers Interested in TO with Adolescents”

● Pedagogy/Theatre of the Oppressed Conference, Omaha, Neb., May 2004: “The Universal Protest Sign”

● Graduate Student Theatre Symposium, Madison, Wis., Feb. 2004: Paper Presentation: “There is Something in Nothing”

● Pedagogy/Theatre of the Oppressed Conference, Milwaukee, May 2003: “Addressing Race Relations in Higher Education through Newspaper Theatre and Forum Theatre”

● Global to Local Justice Conference, Tempe, February 2002: “SOS: How an Art Collective Creates Social Change”

● Pedagogy/Theatre of the Oppressed Conference, Toledo, Ohio, April 2002: “Curricula for Teaching University Courses in Theatre for Social Change”

● Pedagogy/Theatre of the Oppressed Conference, Toledo, Ohio, April 2002: “Art, Activism, and Technology: The End of Privacy”

● Advances in Qualitative Methods, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, February 2001: “Deconstructing Harry: Reflections on Finding my Place: ‘The Brad Trilogy’ as Ethnodrama”

● Advances in Qualitative Methods, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, February 2001: “Performance: Finding My Place: ‘The Brad Trilogy'”

● Global to Local Justice Conference, Tempe, Ariz., February 2001: “Creating Street Theater”

● American Alliance for Theatre & Education Conference, Washington, D.C., June 2000: “Picture This: Using Picture Books to Explore Drama”

● American Alliance for Theatre & Education Conference, Chicago, July 1999: “Teaching Diversity and Social Justice”

● Pedagogy/Theatre of the Oppressed Conference, New York, June 1999: “Experiments with Invisible Theatre: Alternative Formats and Venues”

Notable research in your field:

In December 2009, I completed my doctoral dissertation, “Adult Theatre of the Oppressed Facilitators’ Perceptions of Questions, Roles, and Rules When Using Theatre of the Oppressed with Adolescents,” in the Arizona State University (ASU) Department of Theatre. My study interrogated Augusto Boal’s understanding of “revolution” and examined how it is used as part of Theatre of the Oppressed’s (TO) discourse in North America where jokers perceive institutions and ideologies related to education, media, parents, age and police dominating the cultural, social and political landscape with youth. The purpose of this study was to provide TO facilitators, jokers, educators, theatre artists, and activists, profiles of different ideologies and power structures operant with TO facilitators using TO with adolescents.

Notable employment in your field:

I have loved working for Grand Canyon University for the past eight years. Watching the school and its programs grow in leaps and bounds has been very exciting. Everyone is so dedicated to the success of the students as well as the university as whole being a leader in higher education. I have also taught as an adjunct instructor for Humanities and Fine Arts courses for the Maricopa Community College System for 11 years.  

What are you most passionate about in your field?

I believe my responsibility as an educator is to inspire students to engage with the learning material in a way that will transform their viewpoints and lead to a positive impact in their personal and professional lives. Pedagogy is a transformative art that has the capacity to offer students alternative perspectives of the world and to challenge them to become agents for positive social change. As an educator, I am dedicated to providing learning opportunities for students that promotes critical thinking and higher meta-cognitive abilities, in order for them to share these learned experiences with their communities. I encourage students to go beyond the borders of the classroom and become advocates in leadership, education, politics and the arts.

What aspect of your teaching style is the most distinctive and/or memorable?

My teaching and aesthetic philosophies are deeply rooted in critical pedagogy. I attempt to apply the concepts of praxis, reflection, dialogue, questions, action, experience, listening, transfer, experimentation, collaboration and fun in every aspect of my teaching and coursework. It does not matter if it is a traditional classroom or the online environment because I employ a variety of teaching methodologies to keep students engaged with the material and inspire them to ask questions in a public forum about the research process. I encourage my classes to learn from one another with the hopes of the students developing a sense of ownership and independence as well as accountability in the classroom.

Most people would say that I am my harshest critic when it comes to reflecting upon my work. I am always looking for ways to build upon my success while at the same time learn from my mistakes so I can best serve my students. Teaching online is a dynamic experience that requires constant attention and a strong work ethic because students look to me in their moments of fear and trepidation when it comes to completing their assignments and allowing themselves to receive constructive feedback from someone they have not formally met. I primarily teach the first course in the doctoral program at GCU, so I have had the privilege to help students get a solid foundation for the program ahead of them as well as guide them in a direction that inspires them to become great in their chosen field of study.

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

For the past 11 years, I have enjoy training, traveling and participating in triathlons. I race regularly throughout the year all over the country in various distances and disciplines. For example, this year I completed three half Ironman races in California, Quebec, and Colorado and will finish the season in November with a full Ironman distance race in Tempe, only to be followed up with 2 half Ironman races in California and Connecticut next spring.

I also volunteer to be a pace runner for local races as well as dedicate my time to various Valley-based charities, such as 2Gether We Live, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Feed My Starving Children and Habitat for Humanity.

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

My three children (two girls and a boy) are named after authors: Emerson, Marlowe and Hawthorne.

Professionally I had the unique opportunity to use my theatre expertise in the business world. While attending ASU, I was hired by two successful corporations Giorgio Armani (three years) and Mark Ecko (six months) to design, facilitate and implement many of their Human Behavior/Development Programs using theatre exercises to help workshop participants (employees) gain a better understanding of workplace issues important to the corporations. I conducted more than 150 two-hour, theatre-based workshops in 3 1/2 years. I also have served as a supporter of the arts in the community by curating art shows and working with local artists regularly.

The post Faculty Focus: Chuck Banaszewski appeared first on GCU Today.

The Association of Christian Schools International job fair Tuesday and introduced students to foreign employers.

By Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau

There is a world of possibilities for students looking to make an impact on future generations, and that world just got a little bit closer to home at Grand Canyon University’s first international job fair on Tuesday.

More than 700 international positions have been submitted to ACSI, and future graduates are needed to fill them.

GCU partnered with the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) to bring 26 schools and eight organizations from 28 countries to campus and get aspiring educators and service-driven students connected with international employers. Although it’s only in its first official year on campus, GCU’s Senior Vice President of K12 Educational Development, Dr. Tacy Ashby, and ACSI both believe it’s off to a strong start.

“We anticipate that it’s really going to grow,” Ashby said. “We are very excited about our relationship with ACSI.”

It is an opportunity that steps outside of the box of what a traditional job fair at GCU looks like, and Ashby said that’s what makes it exciting.

“We have a variety of job fairs and career fairs, but mostly they’re local and national. This is opening up the door in a large way to the number of professions in that international sphere,” she said. “The College of Education is really excited about this because it affords incredible ministry opportunities while allowing their students the opportunity to serve in Christian schools abroad.”

CCSC Scholars, who help out with every career and recruiting event, spent the entire event working alongside other departments to make sure the job fair ran smoothly.

In addition to the K12 Development department, the ASCI job fair would not have been possible without the contributions of multiple other campus departments.

“This event is such a great example of the strong collaboration which exists between both GCU and GCE,” said Aysha Bell, Program Manager within the Strategic Employer Initiatives & Internships department. “SEI has worked alongside with K12 Development, Event Services, GCE (Marketing and Admissions), COE (and all the colleges), ACE, CCSC and many more to bring this event to fruition. The goal of what we all work toward is to contribute to the success of our Lopes.”

Schools and organizations from 28 different countries came to GCU’s campus for the ACSI job fair.

Tim Shuman, ACSI’s Regional Director for International Schools, and his team set up several international job fairs with their represented schools on Christian college campuses throughout the country and decided to come to GCU after a meeting with University President Brian Mueller.

“This goes back about two years ago, when Brian Mueller came to ACSI headquarters, and I remember they were looking for ways ACSI and GCU could connect,” Shuman recalled. “We talked about what GCU could do for international schools, and the idea was that we need a world-class job fair.”

Dr. Dan Egeler, GCU’s Vice President of CCSC Outreach and ACSI’s former president, also remembers the beginning of ACSI’s partnership with GCU and has enjoyed watching it play out.

“It’s really exciting to see an idea come to fruition, to have all these schools represented on Grand Canyon’s campus,” Egeler said.

Egeler is traveling in Asia, introducing GCU to people there.

“Three of the schools that have representatives there (at the job fair), I saw them here in Asia before they went to Grand Canyon,” Egeler said. “They were just very excited about getting the opportunity to see Grand Canyon for the very first time. Most folks here in the international context have no idea who Grand Canyon is, and when they hear GCU’s story they’re just absolutely thrilled to be a part of it.”

ACSI has been putting on job fairs for the past two decades and normally shuffles which universities to stop at year to year. But after ACSI officials learned more about GCU, they decided to make it an annual stop.

“We move around the country all the time and we wanted to stabilize that — we wanted to get some anchor points,” Shuman said. “GCU, as it’s up and coming, it being a Christian school, we wanted to be at a school that had a large College of Education.”

Students could learn a little more about different Christian schools all around the world.

Although the employers are largely looking for graduates to fill educational positions, Shuman said there are needs in other areas as well. He describes his recruiting schools as communities and said the employer schools could have positions to fill in many other areas, including IT, counseling, administration and nursing.

The visiting schools work with students ranging from pre-K to 12th grade and will offer students around the world access to Christian educations.

“These are schools that are set up to provide an English, Western-style, American-style education,” Shuman said. “You’ve got Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia is here, so it’s a chance to move into God’s calling in your life to teach young people your subject area, your specialty — do that in a Christian way and have a bigger impact because these kids are going to be the next world-changers in their own nation and perhaps other places in the world.”

ACSI has postings for more than 700 positions around the world, and start dates can range from as soon as possible to 2022.

One of the employers recruiting on campus came from the Christian International School of Prague in the Czech Republic. Abbey Flaherty, the school’s recruiter, was impressed by some of the qualifications she heard from GCU students who stopped at her table.

Abbey Flaherty was able to let students know about jobs available at the Christian International School of Prague.

“One young lady I talked to, she had a ton of experience. Her mom is a teacher and so I think that’s helpful, but she’s just spent a lot of time volunteering and just spending time in local schools,” she said. “It’s almost like you already have a lot of experience when you come into it, so you’re not so surprised when you step into a classroom.

“I’ve talked to some students who know what they want to do, which is great, but also ones that aren’t quite sure, but they’re just interested in exploring their options. I think it’s been interesting to talk to them and kind of expand. It’s not just education majors that are stopping by, which is great because there are lots of opportunities at our school where you don’t necessarily have to have an education background. If you are studying a specific field, we can train you to teach or have a staff position rather than a teaching position.”

It was Flaherty’s first visit to GCU, and it excited her about coming back next year.

“I think all the schools and organizations represented are really excited to be here and glad that… there will be at least one more and hopefully more in the future,” she said.

For students who were unable to attend the international job fair, Shuman said they still can see what’s available and connect with international employers from the Guidebook App under International School Job Fair 2019.

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

****

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The post Future educators go global at first-time job fair appeared first on GCU Today.

Alpha Chi’s GCU chapter added 1,212 students as new members Saturday afternoon.

By Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau 

Samuel Smith was one of Alpha Chi’s newest inductees.

One of the last messages Samuel Smith’s grandfather gave him before he passed away was for him to continue his education and continue his work in the health care field. Smith recalls that message fitting in alongside his grandfather’s belief that “caring and giving back is one of the most noble things a person can do.”

Smith was his grandfather’s caretaker for 10 years, often working at the same time. After taking a five-year break from school once he received his associate degree, he decided at the start of 2019 that his next step would be to go back to school to receive his bachelor’s in Health Care Administration, taking his grandfather’s message to heart.

“He wasn’t just my grandfather, he was my best friend,” Smith said.

That drive to follow his passion for helping people and desire to make his grandfather proud was what pushed him to excel in his schoolwork and eventually would lead to becoming one of 1,212 students inducted into Alpha Chi’s Grand Canyon University chapter Saturday afternoon.

Alpha Chi recognizes and celebrates the top preforming students from over 300 chapters nation wide.

Alpha Chi is a National College Honor Society organization that recognizes the academic achievement and accomplishments of collegiate learners from more than 300 chapters throughout the country. Students in the top 10% of each graduating class within their individual colleges can be invited to become a member, giving them many perks, such as scholarships and access to academic publishers.

It is an organization that has caught the attention of many GCU students. Breanna Naegeli, Associate Dean of the Honors College and GCU Alpha Chi’s sponsor, said one of the most frequently recurring questions she hears from students is how to join Alpha Chi.

The Honors College Associate Dean Breanna Naegeli is also GCU’s Alpha Chi sponsor.

“Alpha Chi is what I consider our most prestigious honors society across all of the GCU community for a few different reasons,” she said. “One, the criteria it takes to be eligible for Alpha Chi is the most stringent across all populations. Two, it also includes our online undergraduate, graduate and doctoral population, so now we’re looking at the 100,000-plus total student body of GCU,” Naegeli said.

To be eligible, students must complete a minimum of 60 college credit hours (16 of which must be from GCU), have at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA at GCU and rank within the top 10% of their graduating class by college. 

The minimum eligible GPA to make the top 10% mark for the College of Education, for example, is 3.99, a minimum that surpasses the standard of 3.5. Naegeli credits it to the University and students’ drive for academic excellence.

Aysha Bell was the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

“GCU does attract a lot of exceptional learners,” Naegeli said. “We place a priority on academic excellence and academic integrity, and students are really working hard to excel. It’s not just passing the class, getting the grade and earning the diploma. Students are really making an effort to excel and graduate at the top of their class.”

Keynote speaker Aysha Bell, Strategic Employer Initiatives and Internships Program Manager, had a similar view on the importance of academic perseverance.

Bell shared her story about her determination to not only reach the goals that her mother had set in store for her but how that drive helped her create and achieve higher goals than she had ever thought possible. The pursuit of academic excellence shouldn’t be taken lightly, Bell said.

Inductees consist of both traditional ground students and online students.

“They (the new inductees) need to understand how important this induction is for them into this honors society and what it can mean for them professionally and personally for the rest of their careers,” she said. “These students are top notch; they are the top 10%. … These students work hard, they have sacrificed personal time, they’ve sacrificed time in their positions, there’s so many different commitments that they’ve had to take time from to make their studies first place in their life, and I commend them for that.”

The ceremony was an opportunity for Smith and other students to be recognized for their hard work, and they also were grateful for the experience.

Jessica Symmes was inducted into Alpha Chi at Saturday’s ceremony and will graduate in December.

“It was wonderful,” Smith said of the first ceremony to recognize his academic excellence. “I’m just so happy and I’m just blessed I can share this with my entire family.”

Jessica Symmes, often referred to as the “dancing nurse” because she is majoring in nursing and minoring in dance, was another Alpha Chi inductee who celebrated her academic achievements with her family, before she graduates in December.

Tahir Bano (right) is an international student but still was able to celebrate with Naegeli and the rest of her GCU family.

“To be in a room with like-minded peers and people who are also achieving academically is something very unique to Alpha Chi,” Symmes said. “Alpha Chi is definitely an honor. Being the top 10% of your graduating class of your college is something that an academic achiever would definitely shoot for, so I definitely came into college with the mind of achieving in the best that I possibly could. And Alpha Chi is just one of those achievements that definitely assures that I did that.”

International senior Tahir Bano wasn’t able to have her biological family with her for the induction because they were back home in her home country of Pakistan, but she still didn’t celebrate alone.

“This is one of the amazing experiences that I’ve had because my family is not here but I consider GCU my family,” Bano said. “This is a big accomplishment for me because I really worked hard, and at the end of the day when you work hard and get an award, this is motivation to do better.”

Watch the ceremony’s live stream here.

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

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The post National Honor Society inducts 1,212 GCU students appeared first on GCU Today.

By Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau 

God challenges us so that He can test our faith and determination: This is the approach doctoral learner Katia Cheetany takes when confronted with trying times.

Cheetany, who traveled to campus this week for her doctoral residency, immigrated to the U.S. from her home country of Lebanon when she was 19 years old. Her knowledge of English was limited, but after her now husband moved to the U.S., where he had family ties, she decided to make the move with him, becoming the first from her family to make the journey to the United States.

Katia Cheetany immigrated to the United States from Lebanon 26 years ago.

“I spoke French and Arabic. I had to learn,” Cheetany recalled about her early years in America 26 years ago.

Once she picked up on the language, Cheetany would dive head first into her passion: education.

“I love learning. I close my computer after reading articles and I grab a book and I read,” she said. “I read a novel and learn something from a character, so I truly love learning. I love developing as a human being because we can always learn. We’re never done learning.”

She would go on to receive a bachelor’s degree from Nevada State College and her first master’s degree from National University in California. Her second master’s is from Southern Utah University. Now she is pursuing her doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership in Education with Grand Canyon University’s College of Doctoral Studies. It has been a journey that has had its share of bumps in the road, but Cheetany refused to let that stop her.

“It’s been an incredibly character-building experience,” she said. “I need to finish because not finishing will take away any meaningful accomplishment I’ve had before.”

Her family also is holding her to that goal.

“From my husband and sons in Henderson, Nev., to my parents who are still in Lebanon, I have the best family support,” Cheetany said. “Even though my parents are thousands of miles away, they support me with their love and prayers every day, making the distance between us a simple physical space. I reach out to them whenever I need them, and they are always there for me.”

Cheetany also teaches science to kindergarten through fifth grade students at Vanderburg Elementary School in Henderson, a job she doesn’t take lightly. She uses the knowledge she has received in her doctoral program and takes it to her classroom back home.

“I think about the 973 children that I get to share this experience with, and they look up like, ‘Wow! OK,’ just like I look up to my professors here, they’re looking up at me like, ‘Wow, I can do this, too. She’s teaching us but she’s learning from them and bringing it here.’ So this is touching a lot more lives than just that small perspective.”

Cheetany plans to leave no stone unturned in her doctoral journey and wants to get as much knowledge as she can from the experience.

“From every professor, I learn something. At the end of every class I walked out with something,” she said. “To me, I feel like every single class gave me an opportunity to grow academically and personally. I am definite that at the end of this journey, I’m going to have even more to take with me.”

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

****

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The post Lebanese doctoral learner finds growth in program appeared first on GCU Today.

GCU News Bureau

A special edition of the Journal of Instructional Research features several articles from Grand Canyon University faculty.

JIR features theoretical and empirically-based research articles, critical reflection pieces, case studies and classroom innovations relevant to best practices in post-secondary instruction (including teaching, learning and assessment).

The articles listed below are available here:

• “Defining Effective Online Pedagogy,” John Steele, Rick Holbeck, Jean Mendernach
• Ten Strategic Points: A Framework for Doctoral Dissertations Students to Conceptualize their Research Design in a Doctoral Residency Program,” Cynthia Bainbridge, Christie McClendon, June Maul
• “The Goldilocks Paradox: The Need for Instructor Presence but Not Too Much in an Online Discussion Forum,” Elizabeth Larson, Jacob Aroz, Eric Nordin
• “Virtual Professional Communities: Integrative Faculty Support to Foster Effective Teaching,” Katie Sprute, Crystal McCabe, Lynn Basko, Paul Danuser
• “Exploring Quiz-Style PowerPoint Games as an Innovative e-Learning and Teaching Pedagogy,” Nikki Squire
• “Reflective Practice through Mentorship: A Program Reflection,” Emily Pottinger, Rebekah Dyer and Jena Akard
• “Using OBS to Create Video Lectures for Online Counseling Students,” Daniel A. Kauffman
• “Active Classrooms: Great for Academic Performance, but can They Improve Student Health? A Critical Literature Review,” Mike Swoboda
• The Intersection of Theory and Practice in Teacher Preparation Courses,” Brandon Juarez
• “Alternative Mentoring for Psychology Students,” Laura Chesniak-Phipps, Laura Terry
• “Using Board Games to Engage Non-interested Students in Accounting Classes,” Kelly Damron
• “Enhancing Online Learning for Public Health Graduate Students,” Dulce Maria Ruelas
• “Implementation of Instructional Videos in an Online Healthcare Research Methods Course,” Danielle Henderson
• “This is How We Do It: Getting Students to Read the Textbook,” Alli Schilling, Helen G. Hammond
• “Helping Students Engage with Written Feedback,” Heather I. Brody, Jennifer M. Santos
• “The Flipped Classroom for College Students: An Evaluation of Research and Trends from Traditional and Online Faculty,” Rebekah Dyer, Thomas Dyer
• “Effective Assessment for Early Courses in Computer Science: Instruments Other Than Out-of-Class Programming Assignments,” Lynda Fritz

The post GCU faculty research published in JIR appeared first on GCU Today.

By Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau

Debra Bartkowski rings the bell after successfully completing 250 miles in the “3 Days at the Fair” race.

Everyone is good at something. For Grand Canyon University doctoral learner Debra Bartkowski, it’s running.

Bartkowski’s father trained lifeguards after retiring from the military and encouraged her to run alongside them as they did laps from buoy to buoy. He promised her ice cream if she was able to zoom past them. 

She was 11 years old.

“I would fly like as soon as I hit the buoy. I would just fly back to him and then he would give me a big hug and would say, ‘OK, go meet Mom, she’s going to get you ready,’” she said. “I didn’t know that he would be staying back to yell at all of the lifeguards about how they were beaten by an 11-year-old girl.”

That would shape her from a child capable of outrunning grown lifeguards and into a woman whose drive led to graduating from GCU twice and becoming a world leader in distance running.

For Bartkowski, who is pursuing her Ph.D. in General Psychology with an Emphasis in Industrial Organizational Psychology through the College of Doctoral Studies, running has become a way to overcome obstacles in her life. It’s a way to conquer her struggles with dyslexia or power through 250 miles at the “3 Days at the Fair” ultra-marathon in Augusta, N.J., and cracked the top 20 list of runners in the world.

“Really running was an outlet for me,” she said. “I feel like you can solve all the world’s problems on a good long run.”

Bartkowski was able to get snacks and water at the aid station during the race.

In high school, Bartkowski struggled in her classes and couldn’t figure out why she had trouble comprehending what she read. Then a teacher asked her if she knew what dyslexia was.

“I’m very prideful. My mother is a doctor herself — she’s a psychologist — so it was really frowned upon to kind of come out (with dyslexia). There was kind of a stigma,” Bartkowski said. “I went through school really struggling with reading comprehension and math skills, and so I never really thought that I was worthy to stand up and be counted in a class of college individuals.”

Later, while she was pregnant with her second child, that fear of not being college worthy was replaced with a drive to “stand up and be counted” in the medical field, like her grandmother and mother before her.

She went on to complete nursing school, then earned her bachelor’s in Program Development and Advanced Patient Care Services and her master’s in Leadership from GCU. Throughout her academic journey, she remained close to her love of running, attempting her first ultra-marathon 100k 15 years ago.

“I failed at that attempt. I found out that blisters really, really hurt, and they can really take you out of the game,” she said. “It was a lot of learning, a lot of adapting, a lot of overcoming and a lot of understanding about the crash/the wall and getting up and trying again.”

Bartkowski was eligible to crack the top 20 women ultra-marathoners in the world.

Last May, Bartkowski took on “3 Days at the Fair” alongside world-class runners such as Scotty Eckert and pushed herself to a new level of running. Her goal was to reach the 200-mile mark, 50 shy of the minimum requirement to reach the world ranking. It was a goal that Bartkowski questioned whether she would make shortly after the starting gun went off.

“I made the mistake the first couple of miles. I went out and ran and I was running at maybe a nine-minute mile pace and it’s not super-fast, but it was definitely fast,” she said. “I realized, ‘What are you doing?’ Three miles into it I really started feeling a little fatigued, and I knew that this wasn’t going to be good at all.”

But Bartkowski got through 50 miles and then 100 miles, which put her in the top five among women in the race. At mile 175, however, she faced a new challenge: the growing pain in her feet.

“My ankle was swollen; I’m still healing from it,” she said. “My left Achilles (and) ankle started to become infected, and I knew that I was starting to feel what they call vasculitis on the top, which is almost like too much trauma of tissue, trauma of overdoing it.”

The runners were able to rest in tents when they needed to take a break.

Bartkowski planned to tape up and rest her leg for a bit in hopes of continuing but had to abandon that idea when she got to her rest tent and discovered that all her gear was wet because she forgot to put a tarp over it.

The solution: She went to an aid station and got about five pairs of socks to create compression, then continued running. “I had to keep moving or else I’d be out of the race,” she said.

She kept going, with the exception of bathroom breaks, out of fear of rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle tissue caused by extreme strain that could lead to damage in her kidneys.

“I literally just thought to myself, ‘Just one more mile, just one more mile … just 200 more yards … sit down, there’s a bench right there … there’s a hilly grass,’” she said. “I started doing that more and more.”

There was another issue at mile 198: She became nauseous. She forced herself to rest and get some broth in her system and finally was able to properly tape up her foot.

That’s where Eckert stepped in. The pair were friends, and Eckert inspired Bartkowski to keep going past her 200-mile goal. They continued together to 225 miles before Eckert had to stop for a food break, and the motivation that came after still brings tears to Bartkowski’s eyes.

Bartkowski had to cut her toes out of her shoes during the run.

“I saw my husband, and then my kids and then there they were, just cheering me on,” she said. “That’s when I realized that what I was doing was bigger than what I thought it was going to be.”

Her husband, Mark, who is also an athlete, provided her with Desitin, and her daughter, Jenna, gave her a Big Mac and a Skype call with her son, Jacob, also a serious runner. 

“Mom, pace yourself now because anything can happen from now to then,” he told her.

But Bartkowski felt newly motivated.

“I had more energy in that moment than in the entire race,” she said. “I started clicking through the miles fast. You could hear my Achilles just go like this (snaps her fingers) — it almost became a metronome. It was starting to loll me and literally gave me the pace.”

Early the next morning, Bartkowski reached her last lap, No. 250, but decided to first get some rest in her tent because she was falling asleep while running. At 4 a.m., Eckert was the one to wake up Bartkowski after hearing her alarm going off for several loops around the track.

Bartkowski’s feat was celebrated by her family.

“You’ve got to get up, you have to get up,” Eckert told her.

Bartkowski’s pain was intense. Her ankle was swollen and red. Her feet were trashed.

“I don’t know,” she said.

Eckert persisted: “You have one mile to go and you’ve got to get up.”

“How did I get here?” Bartkowski asked in her confused state.

“One mile at a time,” Eckert replied. “Let’s go, my friend, because I’m going to run you in.”

After reaching her 250th mile, Bartkowski rang a bell to signify becoming the No. 19-ranked female ultra-marathoner in the world, then did  a celebratory walk with her fellow runners for an additional lap. 

What does her “3 Days at the Fair” accomplishment have to do with her doctoral studies? It’s given her a new perspective of what she can do.

“My takeaway from all this is that you can do anything that you set your mind to because no one ever told me I couldn’t and that’s the one thing that my father always used to say,” she said.

“Yeah, I may not be the smartest person in that room. I mean, I may not understand the theories just yet, but I’ve made it this far and I think that if I continue to go and I adapt, I overcome and I take my fate, tape my leg and take a couple naps here and there and reset, I may look haggard when I cross that threshold and get my hood, but I’m going to be so proud about that.”

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

****

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The post Her race to doctorate aided by brutal marathon feat appeared first on GCU Today.