GCU Alumna Reunited with Mentor
| The signs were clear. Joanna Simpson felt she was called to return to Grand Canyon University, where she earned both her master’s and doctorate degrees in education. |
| Simpson had worked in Georgia for a couple of years, moving her husband and two young children there, but immediately felt God’s hand in her life when she saw a job posting for GCU’s College of Education. She left a tenure-track position as an assistant English professor at Kennesaw State University north of Atlanta to join COE as one of three program directors developing curriculum for future generations of professional teachers. |
| When Joanna Simpson joined GCU in August, she was reunited with College of Education Dean Dr. Kimberly LaPrade, who she's known since her freshman year of high school. (Photo by Darryl Webb) | 
Joanna Simpson (left) joined GCU in August and was reunited with College of Education Dean Dr. Kimberly LaPrade, the former high school English teacher she credits with guiding her toward college. (Photo by Darryl Webb) | The return to Phoenix was also a reunion of sorts since Simpson credits her former high school teacher, COE Dean Dr. Kimberly LaPrade, with helping her academically and steering her toward college. The two became friends at Alhambra High School, where LaPrade (then Miss Long) taught English and Simpson graduated with honors. Simpson even met her husband, Jason, in LaPrade’s freshman English class. |
| The opportunity to work side by side with LaPrade, whom Simpson described as her “guardian angel,” made the decision easy. When few other adults were able to, LaPrade was the one who encouraged Simpson to harness her intellect. |
| Simpson recalled when LaPrade took her to a bookstore to get her a gift for winning a poetry contest. The joy of that experience seems like just yesterday. Now she’s shaping GCU curriculum and working on three separate books related to teaching gifted teens and young adults. |
| “(Dr. LaPrade) taught me that the limits set on me by my socioeconomic status were invisible, and that I could break free from them,” said Simpson, who grew up in a low-income family in west Phoenix. “All I had to do was show up and try.” |
| Simpson certainly showed up and tried hard, though growing up near Indian School Road and 31st Avenue provided distractions that often led her to doubt her intellectual gifts. She was labeled a gifted student, which led her throughout her career as a teacher — eight years as an English teacher at Alhambra, Central and Dysart high schools in Phoenix — to focus on helping students in similar situations to reach their potential. |
| In her GCU doctoral dissertation, Simpson explored the needs of gifted students. She addressed the need to bridge traditional K-8 gifted coursework with high school gifted education to avoid breaks in childhood development. |
| While many intellectually advanced children might read or write beyond their age groups, Simpson said, few are emotionally advanced beyond their peers — so advancing beyond that immediate peer group can lead to emotional challenges, which many teens struggle with amid the pressure of school. |
| For Simpson, that doctoral research experience was personal, both because of her upbringing as a gifted high school student and because of the sadness caused by the suicide of one of her gifted seniors at Central High years ago. |
| As LaPrade mentored her in high school, Simpson had mentored the suicidal student, whose death rocked her classroom and campus. She decided to dedicate herself to find ways to help all students reach their true potential. |
| “I felt like I was researching myself,” Simpson said of her GCU doctoral studies. “I wanted to know why brilliant students were feeling so emotionally disconnected.” |
| LaPrade, who served as content chair on Simpson’s dissertation last year, began as an assistant professor at COE in 2007 and has served as dean for four years. In that time, the college has grown from about 60 students on ground and online to more than 1,000 students in ground courses and more than 15,000 online today. |
| She said seeing Simpson’s success and having her return to GCU made her feel more like a “proud mom” than a teacher or boss. |
| “I’ve never had a doubt that Joanna would succeed,” LaPrade said. “She’s always been gifted. … She’s always been a bright light — positive, funny.” |
| LaPrade and Simpson, who’s also served as a COE adjunct, seem to cross paths at key life moments. For her first student teaching assignment, Simpson had requested to work at Alhambra but found herself assigned to LaPrade’s English department at Central. |
| “Some of it feels very serendipitous,” LaPrade said. “But I also feel there’s this greater hand in this connection. It always keeps coming back … always feels like a perfect fit.” |
| At GCU, they’re tackling a critical challenge for Arizona, which is in the midst of a teacher shortage. Last week, The Arizona Republic cited Arizona Department of Education data that revealed that while the state has 95,000 certified teachers, only about 52,000 are teaching this year. |
| Because of the shortage, some Arizona schools are hiring teachers from other states and even other countries. |
| Simpson’s team, which includes Dr. Karol Schmidt and Dr. Michael Trevillion, addresses program design and development. Few weeks pass where one of the three isn’t at Department of Education meetings, following trends in Arizona education so GCU can continue to meet the needs of its students. |
| “We have a voice there,” Simpson said. “It’s not just the public schools. We’re there too, so we’re able to help address the teacher shortage in Arizona.” |
| While she just started in early August, Simpson said she feels right at home at GCU and sees herself staying here for years to come. |
| “I feel like (GCU) is my last (employer) and that I’ll never have to interview anywhere else ever again,” she said. |
| Contact Michael Ferraresi at michael.ferraresi@gcu.edu or 602-639-7030. | Help Revitalize the Canyon Corridor
 GCU and the residents of the surrounding Canyon Corridor community are building the foundation for what is becoming one of the most successful neighborhood revitalization efforts the country has ever seen. Be a part of the transformation that will create jobs, revitalize the Canyon Corridor and provide tremendous benefits to the neighborhood and the City of Phoenix. Join other supporters todayby contacting the Phoenix City Council to encourage them to approve GCU's zoning application. |
Alumni Library Resources Guide
 The GCU Library has created an Alumni Library Resources Guide with links to four alumni edition databases. This guide allows alumni to perform academic-based research, read summaries of top business books from the past two decades, access business magazines and journals and explore nursing and health care books and other materials. Additionally, the site also has links to Internet resources that provide free access to online academic content on a variety of subjects. Access the site here. | Resumes that Make the Phone Ring by Dave Stakebake
GCU Career Services
After almost a decade of experience working as a recruiter and now career adviser, I have seen a fair share of resumés cross my desk. After all this time, it is still difficult to hear a job seeker say he or she has spent hours on their resumé, but isn’t attracting interview offers. Hopefully, my top five tips will get you on the right track and keep your phone ringing.
Tip #1: Organize and make the resumé easy to read
Recruiters only spend 10 to 20 seconds scanning a resumé looking for specific pieces of information pertinent to the position for which they are hiring.
Headings should be clearly defined and the content informative (especially the top one-third of the document).
Bullet points are good, but no more than three different styles. Recruiters are more likely to read a few bullets than a lengthy paragraph.
Certain words, such as your name, headings, university attended, companies or position titles, should be in boldface to guide the reader through the document.
Tip #2: Summary over objective
Use a summary statement rather than an objective. An objective is a statement of the position you want and the employer you for which you want to work — a moot point. The employer already knows you want to work there by your application. The summary statement is all about the reader — you’re appealing or selling yourself to the hiring manager.
Summary statements highlight your greatest attributes. Include information such as your top two or three strengths and tell the reader what the company will gain by reading the rest of your résumé and hiring you.
Tip #3: Accomplishments and achievements
The resumé is a marketing tool and should be focused on your accomplishments and achievements:
Focus on what you have done and can do for the employer. Simply stating what your duties were or are at a position doesn’t get the job done.
Use strong verbs and adjectives to draw attention, “developed,” “increased,” “initiated,” “effectively,” “promoted,” and “consistently,” are a few examples.
Tip #4: One resumé does not fit all
Resumés should be catered or tailored towards a specific position or a specific organization. Gone are the days of completing one resumé and sending it out to numerous different companies. Each resumé should be customized.
Research the company — what are their mission, vision and values? What are the key skills requested in the job description? The more your resumé sounds like the organization the better off you will be.
Modify your summary statement to include key words used by the company and identify significant accomplishments in past positions that match the desired job description.
Taking the time to focus the resumé before sending it out greatly increases your chances of being noticed during their initial scan.
Tip #5: Review the resumé and then do it again
I cannot stress the importance of proofreading your resumé enough. One typo and your chances of being invited to an interview can drastically decrease. Making sure that your resumé is free of grammatical errors also is crucial. The quality of a resumé says a lot about you — attention to detail, the quality of work to be expected, your interest in the position. After completing your document, go through it a few times and then walk away. Take some time away from it and then review it a few hours or even a day later, you may be surprised when you look at it again with fresh eyes. You’re not in this job search alone, so reach out to family, friends and the GCU Career Advisors as an extra set of eyes. The one thing everyone agrees on is that misspellings and errors on resumés don’t make a phone ring.
Getting interviews is hard work, and it’s just not good enough to list your past jobs and duties on your resumé. It takes time, research and creative writing. If you do not have a resumé and would like to create one, our Resumé Architect is a great tool to help you get started. You also may view our resumé tip videos. They’re all just a click away at www.gcu.edu/careerservices, or you can stop by the Career Services office in Camelback Hall or call 602-639-6606 to connect. Please use any of our tools to identify your career path, build your resumé, research career options or apply to current job postings. |
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