The LOPES Academy at the Cardon Center at Grand Canyon University  is a program that allows people with disabilities to explore the possibility of going to college at GCU without homework, but while being on campus.

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As a recent graduate of the LOPES Academy at the Cardon Center's inaugural cohort, I can say this program is life-changing. I loved every minute of the two hours we had on campus at GCU. There are just too many favorite memories to pick from but one of my favorites was participating in graduation with fellow GCU students from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

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In September 2023, I went from being student/participant to being employee as I became the LOPES Academy Alumni Relations Specialist. It's a "dream-come-true" to be an employee of this program that has changed my life. Within my role, I will be planning Alumni events for recent graduates of our program and helping with other tasks like creating social media pages for our alumni association and program enhancement tasks like writing grants.  When I started my new role, I can two cool full circle moments. One was when I went into the Lope Shop to see two former participants working and one of them just lit up with a smile and excitedly said my name. The other was when I saw my co-worker Nathan who worked with when I interned for the GCU Athletics Department within the Communications department. We caught up about life and work. 

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2023 LOPES Academy Golf Tournament

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