Senior Caleb Smithee was recently flown to Phoenix by Grand Canyon University to tour the campus on November 16-17. The university is paying for the entire trip to allow Smithee to visit.

“Discover GCU campus visits allow a student to experience campus from the eyes of a student,” admissions counselor Nolan Godfrey said. “During the overnight stay, they are given a campus tour, meet with their counselor, talk with GCU students, professors and staff, go to a breakout session for their program of interest, stay the night in our suite style dorm rooms and are given a meal card to use at any dining options on campus.”

GCU is a Christian university in Phoenix focused primarily on liberal arts. Smithee became interested in it after meeting an alumnus from the school that introduced him to its programs. From there, he applied and spoke with Godfrey, who assisted in planning the flight to Phoenix.

“GCU is a dream for me just because I have wanted to go there for a long time,” Smithee said. “They’ve talked me through the whole process and haven’t skipped anything.”

GCU frequently reimburses students for visits through the Discover GCU program. The university’s counselors confirmed Smithee was admissible after he filled out an application, permitting him to receive the free trip as well.

“Smithee completed our free, online application and was admissible based on his high school transcripts,” Godfrey said. “[This] made him eligible to visit GCU’s campus on our free, overnight Discover GCU trip.”

Smithee plans to pursue a business degree following high school. While distance remains a concern for him, touring GCU ensures he will have the opportunity to determine if he eventually wants to attend the school.

“GCU offers everything that I might be interested in, and that’s what I really love,” Smithee said. “They are a private university; therefore, they don’t have out-of-state tuition which helps with price, [and] I really love how helpful they have been throughout this whole process.”