Ashlee Larrison Story
Pictures of Ralph Freso
GCU News Desk

It is undeniable that Grand Canyon University affects many areas.

Honor College Associate Dean Dr. Breanna Naegeli delivers the welcome address at the event.

This is a reality that became even clearer on Monday as the Specialized college hosted the Spring 2022 Learning and Research Community Symposium on behalf of Academic Affairs.

In addition to the Learning Community Fair and the opportunity for attendees to browse research posters, five oral research presentations have been selected to highlight not only the talent emerging from the University, but also the reach in which GCU’s emphasis on service reaches different avenues of the professional world.

The work the students do outside of their classes is what really makes the event memorable for the Associate Dean of the Honors College Dr. Breanna Naegeli.

“This event provides a great platform for students to share all that they are engaged in, all that is voluntary and outside of assigned class projects. It is also a testament to what our faculty do and how they support student learning outside of teaching and office hours,” she said. “It exemplifies how collaborative our community is here at GCU, how supportive our faculty are of learners in all of their endeavours.”

The five presentations included research ranging from teacher shortages to the effects of smoke exposure on wildland firefighters.

Katelyn Hochstetler and Kyle Luster explain their virtual reality simulation for victims of human trafficking at the Learning and Research Community Symposium.

The wide range of topics makes Naegeli particularly happy.

“I’m really excited about today’s presentations because for the first time, five different colleges are being featured in the oral presentations, and we’re witnessing the diversity of applied learning experiences our students have access to,” said she declared. “These groups go out into the community and actually apply what is taught in the classroom.”

This sense of pride was echoed by attendees, including the GCU President Brian Müller and other leaders.

“Brian speaks very well about the University’s vision, but also about the five-point plan and what we are doing in the community,” said the University President. Dr. Hank Radda to the public in his closing remarks at the event. “I don’t think you could get a better representation of what’s happening in a very real way.”

University Provost Dr. Hank Radda delivers closing remarks.

And presentations like the one given by business students Justin White House, Reid Psalms and Jennifer N Guessan are a perfect example.

The group’s project was born out of its work within the Colangelo College of Business New Business Development Center (NBDC).

The aim of the project was to find solutions to an alarming statistic about the success rates of new businesses.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of new businesses fail in their first two years, and that percentage rises to 45% in their first five years. It’s a sad reality that has only gotten worse in recent years with the pandemic.

Justin Whitehouse speaks during his team presentation for GCU’s New Business Development Center.

Through their work with NBDC, members hope to find ways to keep new businesses going.

“We want to help them restart this business, and we want to help them restart it where it won’t stop if something else happens,” Reid said.

By helping to teach small business owners the skills needed to successfully navigate adversity, students not only impact business owners and their families, but the economy as well.

Their desire to give back has only been strengthened by their presence on the GCU campus.

“GCU is about finding your purpose and servant leadership. … It’s about using the resources you have to serve your community, so that’s where it all started,” N’Guessan said. “The impact of small business success isn’t just for the small business, it’s for the entire community.”

Nicole Nowakowski (right) and Nicole Leake give their presentation for Design United in partnership with Capital Christian Schools.

Through its presentation, the group hopes to open the door to future collaborations.

“It all has to do with collaboration, with different clubs and the support of administration and leadership to really work hand in hand to help the community,” Whitehouse said. “That’s exactly why we’re honored to have the opportunity we had today – to compile everything we’ve done from 2016 to 2021 and kind of paint a picture of our new initiatives.”

Another group to present at the symposium was the College of Arts and Media United Honors Design Group.

His presentation focused on the student organization’s current collaboration with Capital Christian School in Sacramento, California on a campus beautification project.

Members Nicole Nowakowski and Nicole Leake shared ideas after working on the project and highlighted the benefits for the capital’s Christian community as well as GCU.

“It was a good time to take a step back and really look at what we did and analyze,” Leake said. “I hope the audience got to see the amount of work we’ve done, the exciting future we have and that we really hope to build this program and be a great resource both internally and externally. marketing.”

Attending such an event is something she will never forget.

“I feel really honoured,” Leake said with a smile.

RESEARCH AND PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

Substitute Education Changes Lives

Presenters: Sophie Figueroa, Emma Nyffeler, Faira Fischer, Ashley Hernandez, Kelly Hernandez

To advise: Claudia Colman

College of Education

GCU New Business Development Center (NBDC)

Presenters: Justin White House, Kalia Brewster, Cristina Trinidad Citalan, Reid Psalms, Jennifer N Guessan, Luis Escamilla

To advise: Eduardo Borquez

Colangelo College of Business

Design United in partnership with Capital Christian Schools

Presenters: Nicole Nowakowski, Nicole Leake

To advise: Chris Murphy

College of Arts and Media

In general or by district – The city of Scottsdale and the question of representation

Presenters: Jessica Landes, James Jordan Davis, Annabelle Copenhagen, Joseph Madeira, Amy Guerrero

Research Team: Alexa Fox, Antonio Valáquez, Cayla Pabo, Colin Schwantner, Dante Barton, Edgar Moreno, James Davis, Catherine Rafferty, Kathryn Olomua, Nick Guptil, Shane Moss, Tatiyana Ponce

To advise: Evelyne Racette

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

The relationship between smoke exposure and VO2max in wildland firefighters

Presenters: Annika Grams, Payton Award

To advise: Dr Zachary Zeigler

College of Science, Engineering and Technology

Contact Ashlee Larrison at (602) 639-8488 or [email protected].

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