Always Learning: Spotlight on GCU Honors Student David Carter

Every morning when you wake up you get to choose who you want to be, your attitude, your thoughts and much more. Sometimes, in college, it is easy to find yourself going through the motions, sitting through class and wondering if you really are learning anything.

For Grand Canyon University Honors College junior and campus Life Leader David Carter, he challenges this attitude by waking up every morning and choosing to see a learning opportunity in every situation he finds himself in.

Carter is originally from Southern California, but also spent time growing up in Sweden. He is majoring in communications and minoring in sports management; he hopes to pursue a career in sports broadcasting. One of his biggest dream jobs is to be a statistician in the Australian Open.

In his spare time, he enjoys tennis, reading, blogging and hiking.

As a Life Leader for the first time last year, Carter enjoyed taking on the challenge of theology and the process of learning how Christianity works in applying it to real life.

He expressed that this year has been, “A chance for me to really experience God’s grace.”

College is a time to dive deeper than you would have in high school. Carter expressed how he wants to be open minded, but also a critical thinker. He sees his classes as working together rather than disconnected, and incorporates what he is learning in one class and implements it into his other classes.

As an honors student who aims to excel, it is easy to find yourself stressing over your GPA. However, Carter advises the following, “If you focus on grades, you will just learn the material and then forget it. But, if you take a different approach, you can learn it, apply it to your life, turn it into lessons and make an impact on the world.”

He encourages hard workers to also remember to maintain a balance between academics and a social life. He finds that having a break from studies gives him an open attitude to learn more about others and their lives.

When approaching classes Carter emphasized how one should “focus on the learning process, rather than just the grades. It’s better to get a B in a class and be challenged and develop better critical thinking skills then to get an A and not be challenged.”

Becoming a critical thinker requires analyzing the world around you both inside the classroom and outside, and then applying it to real life situations.

There is a lot we can learn from Carter’s take on approaching both life and classes. He left us with this insight on trusting God and living life, “You need God to direct you and guide your life. He should be the source for all things in life and give you purpose.”

Interested in learning more about the Honors College and degree programs at GCU? Visit our website or contact us using the Request More Information button to learn more today!