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Awards

Showcase and Awards

Read more about the awards and recognitions celebrating our alumni achievements.

Alumna Named Teacher of the Year

Lynette Stant graduated from GCU’s College of Education with a MA in Teaching in 2006. Since then, Stant has gone on to teach Native American children. As a Native American herself, being able to be part of their educational journey meant a lot for her personally. In 2019, Stant was named Teacher of the Year in Arizona, becoming the first Native American to receive that honor.

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Alumni Awards

The College of Education at GCU proudly prepares graduates with the skills and tools they need to go on to make a difference in educational communities around the world, helping to change the lives of their students and school communities.

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Highlighting Achievements in the College of Education

Our College of Education celebrates the achievements of students, faculty, and alumni who are making an impact in education.

Board of Trustees Member Dr. Lupita Ley Hightower Wins Multiple Prestigious Awards

Dr. Hightower is proud to serve on the Board of Trustees for GCU and is on the College of Education Advisory Board. She served as former president for the Arizona School Administrators and the Arizona Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (AzALAS), as well as a past executive committee member for the Arizona Academic Standards Assessment (AASA).

In 2023, Dr. Hightower was recognized as Arizona’s Superintendent of the Year. In 2019, she was named National Latinx Superintendent of the Year among other humbling recognitions, including Arizona School Administrators Superintendent Award for mid-sized districts.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

Dr. Brandon Juarez — AAQEP Reviewer

Dr. Juarez serves as a national Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) Quality Review Team member/reviewer. Dr. Juarez dedicates his time to serving as a quality review team member for multiple colleges of education across different higher education institutions. Through this valuable service, he has had the opportunity to gather insights into best practices, stay updated on expectations and job-related skills to impart to his teacher candidates, and observe firsthand how the four AAQEP standards were implemented and put into action at various institutions.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

Dr. Katie Sprute — Vice Chair of First Things First

Dr. Sprute was recognized for five years of service on the Phoenix North Regional Council of First Things First.^{(See disclaimer 3)} First Things First is Arizona's Early Childhood agency. The Phoenix North Regional Partnership Council makes strategic investments to support the healthy development and learning of children birth to age 5 in the region. Dr. Sprute serves as vice chair of the council and represents the educational community.

Dr. Rebekah Dyer — Neurodiversity Inclusivity PTSA, President

Dr. Dyer is the current president of the Arizona Neuro-Diversity Inclusivity Parent Teacher Student Association (NDI-PTSA). This organization was formed to support districts and schools in the state of Arizona in understanding and supporting neurodiversity. She also serves on the advisory board for the L.O.P.E.S. Academy at Grand Canyon University. The L.O.P.E.S. Academy provides an opportunity for individuals with developmental disabilities to experience college. She teaches classes for the Academy as well. Dr. Dyer also hosts an annual Disability Week for the university campus to increase knowledge of disability and promote inclusion.

Dr. Crystal McCabe — Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC)

Dr. Micaela Swan — Presented at Conference

Dr. Swan presented at the 2025 CEC Special Education Convention and Expo in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Swan collaborated with a Clemson doctoral student, a Washington, D.C. school counselor and a classroom teacher to present research on the implementation of trauma-informed pedagogy in a school setting to meet the mental health and well-being needs of students. Dr. Swan’s particular contribution to this session focused on her doctoral research that examined barriers to implementing these strategies in a special education classroom and what school leaders can do to address these barriers.

Dr. Emily Pottinger, Dr. Meredith Critchfield and Dr. Lindy Gaudiano — Presented at Conference

In 2025, Dr. Pottinger co-presented with Dr. Critchfield and Dr. Gaudiano at the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) Quality Assurance Symposium on “Steering the Future: Policy and Advocacy for Transforming Educator Preparation.” This interactive session explored GCU’s advocacy strategies — toolkits, collaboration and marketing — and engaged participants in policy mapping and personalized advocacy planning to promote long-term impact at state and federal levels.

Dr. Rebekah Dyer – Serves on National Level Board

Nathan Hollis II – Serves on State Level Council

Dr. Sheila Damiani, Dr. Lynn Basko and Dr. Crystal McCabe — Presented at Conference

Dr. Damiani, Dr. Basko and Dr. McCabe presented at the 2025 annual conference for the Association of Teacher Educators’ Special Interest Group in Classroom Management. They presented on “Advocacy in Action: Transforming classrooms with gratitude, student voices and teacher leadership.” During their presentation, they shared the work that GCU online full-time faculty and staff are doing to understand the impact gratitude, student advocacy and teacher leadership have on classroom culture.

Dr. Micaela Swan — Presented and Published at Conference

Dr. Swan presented at the 2024 Global Research Education Association Annual conference in Shijiazhuang, China. Dr. Swan presented research and findings on the integration of trauma-informed strategies and literacy instruction to not only improve reading outcomes but to support students’ emotional and social development. This topic was selected as part of the organization’s mission to address the United Nation’s 17 Sustainability Goals, especially in the areas of quality education and good health and well-being. This presentation was to provide a solution to this particular issue. This presentation also was published for dissemination in mainland China and was translated into Mandarin in 2025.

Dr. Emily Pottinger and Julianne Brett — Presented at Conference

Dr. Pottinger and Julianne Brett presented at the 2025 Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) Quality Assurance Symposium on “Building Foundations: Educator Dispositions in Shaping Quality Programs.” Their session shared a framework for assessing and integrating professional dispositions into educator preparation and highlighted how GCU’s College of Education embeds these into leadership, teacher development and institutional culture to enhance program quality.

Dr. Katie Sprute and Associate Professor Kimber Underdown — Published a Book Chapter

Dr. Shawna Martino, Tanner Nielsen and Julianne Brett– Presented at Conference

Dr. Martino, Tanner Nielsen and Julianne Brett presented at the 2025 AAQEP Quality Assurance Symposium on “Second Chances, Stronger Starts: The Personal Improvement Plan for Student Teaching Re-Entry.” Their session highlighted GCU’s Personal Improvement Plan (PIP) for student teaching re-entry. Their session showcased a data-informed, collaborative approach that provides tailored mentorship, targeted modules and guided reflection to support candidates after unsuccessful student teaching attempts, ensuring fairness and future classroom success.

Dr. Katie Sprute and Dr. Sheila Damiani — Presented at Conference

Dr. Emily Pottinger and Julianne Brett — Presented at Conference

Dr. Pottinger and Julianne Brett presented at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) 2025 Annual Meeting on “Setting Sail for Success: Educator Dispositions as the Captain’s Compass.” This session explored the critical role of professional dispositions in shaping effective educational leaders. Presenters shared research-based frameworks and practical strategies for integrating dispositions into educator preparation programs through coursework and field experiences.

Emily Farkas, Dr. Ashley Brandon and Julie Blair — Presented at Conference

Emily Farkas, Dr. Brandon and Julie Blair presented at the 2025 Association for Advancing in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) Annual Symposium on “Fostering Ethics: Integrating and Measuring an Ethics Assessment in Teacher Preparation.” During their presentation, the team shared the work they had done surrounding the implementation of ethics assessments in MEd educational administration/leadership programs.

Dr. Emily Pottinger and Dr. Lindy Gaudiano — Presented at Conference

Dr. Pottinger and Dr. Gaudiano presented at the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Symposium on “Empowering Learning: Leveraging AI for Smarter Test Preparation” in 2025. The session focused on innovative uses of AI tools to enhance test preparation and student success. The session also highlighted ethical considerations, best practices for implementation and strategies for integrating AI into higher education environments to improve learner outcomes.

Dr. Katie Sprute — Presented at Conference

Dr. Shawna Martino and Dr. Micaela Swan — Hosted Short-Term Mission Trips

Canyon Global Educators is a service-focused program supported by GCU’s College of Education. The initiative is led by faculty member Dr. Martino, with fellow faculty member Dr. Swan also serving as a leader for select trips. Short-term mission teams travel internationally, including to destinations such as Spain and Uzbekistan, to teach English as a Second Language (ESL). The program is designed for faculty and students who are interested in combining professional teaching experience with cross-cultural ministry and outreach. Participants engage with local communities, providing English language education while demonstrating Christian values through service and relationship building.

Dr. Lindy Gaudiano — Presented at Conference

Dr. Gaudiano presented at the 2024 National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education (NASDTEC) Annual conference for “Crafting Futures: Navigating the Path of Apprenticeship.” During her presentation she facilitated discussion related to creating experimental apprenticeship pathways and partnering with existing state pathway options to best approach building and developing apprenticeship programs and pathways.

Dr. Katie Sprute and Dr. Alicia Kozimor — Presented at Conference

Dr. Lindy Gaudiano — Serves on State Level Board

Dr. Gaudiano serves on the Arizona Educational Foundation Governance Committee. As a board member for four years, she was selected to assist with this additional role to update governance and procedural documents, as well as advise on changes to board operations. She and the committee spearhead board effectiveness, create and administer board assessment tools, develop board profiles and identify, recruit and on-board new members.

Dr. Katie Sprute and Dr. Sheila Damiani — Presented at Conference

Huron: Studer Education. (n.d.). 2023 Superintendents of the Year. Retrieved June 2023.
Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation. (2022). AAQEP Annual Report for 2022 Advanced Degree Programs. Retrieved July 2023.
First Things First. (n.d.). Phoenix North Region. Retrieved August 2023.

College of Education Rankings