Eric Jay Toll

It seemed like a small thing – calming a patient.
But Kiyavanna Robinson, an Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing student at the Grand Canyon University ABSN site in St. Louis, discovered that it's those little things that mean a lot.
She was assigned to assist a middle-aged patient who had a lumbar puncture scheduled that day. Robinson saw how nervous that patient was and went beyond the usual preprocedure assessment.
“I wanted to know what happened to her and why she was in for the pr...

Against the black night, the darker-than-night silhouettes of Monument Valley buttes graced the horizon. Overhead, stars were scattered across the sky—a prank by Coyote, according to Navajo legend—and the stripe of Milky Way stars arced brilliantly across the sky from the southwest to the northeast horizon.
It was a cold night in northeastern Arizona on the Colorado Plateau, and our group of photographers huddled deeper in our jackets with cameras ready. I kept checking the time on my phone. ...

When you think of patient care, you generally don't think of peppermint and lavender. Could peppermint and lavender really make a difference, for example, in easing patient stress? It's something Liezl Moscaya looked into as part of her practicum quality improvement project for her master's degree in nursing.
Trained in the Philippines as a nurse, Moscaya came to the United States, and in 2008, she joined Veterans Administration Healthcare in her home state of Connecticut. Four years later, s...

It was a well-trekked sandy trail leading us into the thick brush. A gentle breeze rustled the shrubs and straggling mesquite and ironwood trees. In an instant on the short track, we seemed to leave the Sonoran Desert behind and move into a stunted but lush preserve.
Two of us were camping for a long weekend at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, along the Arizona-Sonora, Mexico border at Lukeville, ...

Photos by Ralph Freso
In a matter of minutes, the dance studio on the first floor of Grand Canyon University's Saguaro Hall went from serene to hustle and bustle as it filled with the sound of students.
They were eager to see returning friends, meet incoming dance majors, and once again stretch creativity through Christian-worldview dance during the College of Arts and Media's Welcome Week open dance sessions.
“We’ve been doing this for years, but this is the first time we are on the (Welcome...

Grand Canyon University online graduate student Paige Ott believed her role in life was to ensure that adopted children landed in safe, loving homes.
She was an adopted child, and from an early age, her parents were upfront about it and explained the process to her.
“They made it very grand to be adopted,” she said from her home on a steaming, humid afternoon in Nebraska. “They made me understand that it was not about the store dropping you off on the fence post.”
From a term paper assignment...

It’s entering another world of language, history and amazement. It’s a lifetime experience for the first-time visitor. Come along and explore the best way to spend 7 days in Paris.
Here are some travel tips for planning your Paris one-week itinerary. There are some essential tips, ideas and common French phrases at the end of the article.
Paris Itinerary Day 1: We’re Here, Now What?
When arriving in Paris for the first time, it’s exhilarating. I was tingling with excitement. It’s so new and y...

The answer to the unasked question is that commercial real estate development is not the right name. Lynn McKee, director of the Masters of Science in Commercial Real Estate program at Georgia State University, makes that observation.
“Commercial real estate is mislabeled,” he said. “It always has been because when people hear (CRE), they think of office buildings and shopping centers; it really should be called ‘income-producing real estate.’”
McKee says that virtually all real estate develo...

For Dr. David Mulkey, nursing is more than a career – more than a calling, even.
The Grand Canyon University associate professor takes his teaching philosophy one step further.
Nursing, he said, is a ministry.
"It is a unique position that we are in as nurses to care for patients at their most vulnerable state – when they need health care. ... It's a really vulnerable time for (the patients). And so, teaching nursing as a ministry and calling really impacts how we care for our patients.”
That...

Photos by Ralph Freso / GCU News
One day, Grand Canyon University nursing student Alyssa Parinas was just “doing her job.” At HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center, Norterra Phoenix, she was making rounds with her nursing supervisor when a patient needed a little extra care.
“I didn't see myself doing anything special,” Parinas said. “I guess, to her, it made an impact. She was really grateful for me and my (supervising) nurse."
That “thank you” set the wheels in motion, and Parinas found he...

At 17, Quentin Tesi had a son and no job. So he enlisted in the Army reserve, rising in the ranks to become a flight medic in the Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
That wasn’t his plan, nor would it be the Grand Canyon University student's path.
“I went to the University of Toledo on a football scholarship,” he said. “And then, I had a son when I was 17. It kind of changed the course from playing college football to the Army.”
Higher education was essential, so he snagged a bachelor's deg...

Riley Rosengarten, a full-time instructor in the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, knows well the final steps on the journey to becoming a registered nurse: embracing a commitment and compassion for critical care patients.
Rosengarten joined the Grand Canyon University faculty one year ago after a career in nursing with an emphasis on critical care — emergency departments, trauma centers and intensive care units — all with a focus on adult care.
Now he’s teaching those skills to...

My bucket list trip to experience winter in Québec was made even more memorable by the excursion to Saguenay.

A winter visit to Québec has long been on my bucket list. It seems pretty offbeat to leave Arizona in February and land not far from the Arctic Circle. The trip to Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean was an unexpected detour from Carnaval in Québec Citie. Bundling up meant I was never cold despite an air temperature that never cleared 12F (-11C). The Québecoise are exceptionally welcoming hosts. ...

Seth Barta vividly remembers his launch into adulthood and the moment he left home to join the United States Air Force: “The minute I joined, it was like, my dad gave me 200 bucks and said, ‘Here ya go, kid. Good luck.’”
The Grand Canyon University Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing student spoke as he sat in a drop zone after a parachute glide in San Antonio. Parachuting might be a hobby now, but in the Air Force, he served with pararescue special operations, part of an elite corps t...

Story by Eric Jay Toll / Photos by Tanielle Gilbert
After several starts and stops in life, including dropping out of school, Vienna Simar, a Grand Canyon University Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing student in the brand new program in Lake Mary, Florida, shared how her faith, persistence and mission led her to this moment in her life.
“For me, I struggle a lot with self-doubt,” said Simar, a Californian transplanted to Florida via Arizona who shared her story this morning at the ope...